The Riddle
by daughterofeos11
Summary: Percy Jackson was finally happy. But obviously the Fates wouldn't want that. And so, his life gets turned upside down, he learns things about his mother that he didn't know before, and he gets transported into a whole new world. The Golden Trio don't like this new boy for obvious reasons. Yet, there's something about him that Hermione can't help but be drawn to. Read and Review pls
1. Chapter 1

It was a few months after the Titan war. The campers were busy building the new cabins and satyrs came back everyday with a ton of new demigods. The shrouds for the fallen campers had been burned and everyone was healing. Thalia was busy with the Hunt, and Nico was almost always working in the Underworld. Percy was now one of the senior counsellors, and had a lot of responsibility. It was getting near Christmas, and Percy wanted to spend it with his mother. He thought that everything could be better, now that the war was over. He couldn't have been more wrong, for, just before he left camp, something happened that would change his life in ways unimaginable.

* * *

Percy stormed into the apartment in a silent fury. He didn't greet his mom like he usually would. He just walked straight into his room and slammed the door behind him. Sally knew that there was something wrong. Her usually optimistic, cheerful, and generally happy son was never so dark and moody, and angry.

His appearance was also something that worried her. His jet black hair was messier than normal and his bright sea green eyes were abnormally dull and red. His Camp Half-Blood shirt was torn and wet with tears.

Sally went to his room and gently knocked on the door.

"Percy, love, can I come in?" she asked softly. There was a muffled reply and Sally took that as a sign to go in.

Inside, she saw Percy laid out on the bed with his face buried into the pillow. The room itself was a mess. He still hadn't cleaned it from the last time he had been here. There were clothes thrown over the floor, and wrappers littered the carpet. Sally went over to the bed and sat down.

"What's wrong my little fish?" she said, rubbing his back and purposely using his old nickname. Percy didn't say anything.

"She broke up with me," Percy finally mumbled.

Sally was confused. "What?"

"She broke up with me. Annabeth broke up with me. She said that it wasn't working out," Percy explained, tears slowly falling down his face.

"What do you mean? You were both so happy!" Sally asked. She didn't understand. They were the perfect couple! How could it possibly not have worked out?

"Apparently we had different dreams and our personalities were too different. She said that her dream was to build something that would last forever, and that I was holding her back. She said that I didn't really care about any of that sort of stuff and that I didn't have the intelligence to be her boyfriend. She said that she was going to help her mother on Olympus and learn from her. She wanted us to still be friends after this!" Percy yelled. The tears were coming at full force now.

Sally quickly pulled her son into a hug and began consoling him as he sobbed into her shoulder.

"I can't go back to camp! Mom, I can't see her again! Please don't make me go there!"

Sally was furious. How dare that _girl _break her son's heart like that! Sally knew that she couldn't send him back to camp, but he wouldn't be protected if he stayed at home. There had to be somewhere she could send him. She began thinking of all the mythological places she knew. She was about to give up when it hit her.

"Percy," she spoke carefully. Percy looked up at her, noticing the change in her tone.

"Percy, there's something I have to tell you. Now this is going to come as a shock to you and you are going to have a lot of questions so I'm going to ask you to let me finish explaining before you ask questions, okay?"

Percy sat up completely and wiped away his tears. He was the hero of Olympus! He wasn't supposed to be so pathetic! His mother seemed incredibly nervous and he couldn't understand why. He nodded his head and waved at her to continue.

"Percy, remember when I told you that my parents died in a plane crash? Well, that wasn't true. You see Percy, the Greek world isn't the only world out there. Many years ago, Hecate blessed a group of mortals with the power to use magic, just so that she could spite Zeus. But since they were mortals, they needed something that would allow them to channel their magic. Hecate then gifted three of the blessed mortals with the knowledge on how to turn wooden sticks into magical items that could channel someone's power. The mortals decided to call these wands. The mortals then decided to separate themselves from the other mortals and began calling themselves witches and wizards. My mother was a witch. My father was a wizard. My parents didn't really die in a plane crash," Sally finished, closing her eyes as she prepared herself for Percy's reaction.

"What! How does no one know about this! Wait! Does that mean your a witch? Am I a wizard? Does dad know? Whoa!" Percy shouted in surprise.

"First, no one knows about this because the magical community is in England, and also because Hecate has covered the entire magical community in an extremely heavy layer of Mist. Second, yes I _was _a witch. I am now a squib. Yes you are a wizard. And lastly, yes your father does know. He's the one that told me how the magical community came to existence. He was very surprised to know that we still existed. Apparently Zeus had ordered Hecate to kill all the wizards and witches," Sally answered, slightly relieved that her son was being open-minded about it.

"Wait, what's a squib and how can you stop being a witch?" Percy asked frowning in confusion.

"A squib is someone who has magical parents and carries the magical gene, but can't use magic herself or himself. You can't stop being a witch. The only reason I turned into a squib, was because I used an incredibly difficult spell to contain your wizard magic. The spell used up most of my magic and damaged my magic core, turning me into a squib," Sally explained.

Percy nodded his head and thought about what his mother had told him. He didn't understand why he readily believed her so easily. Then he realised, that on some subconscious level he already knew. He always knew that there was a reason why he was so much more powerful than any other demigod. But he was still confused about something.

"Wait, why are you telling me all this now?" he asked his mother questioningly.

"Well, since you aren't going to camp any more, I have decided to send you to Hogwarts!" Sally smiled.

"Hogwarts! And what would that be?" Percy snorted. He couldn't help it! The place was called _Hogwarts! _

"Oh, right! Hogwarts is a famous school for wizards and witches! I didn't go there, but I know that it's the best school there is! It was founded by four of Hecate's blessed mortals. The current headmaster is Professor Dumbledore, I believe. It is heavily shrouded in Mist, so you won't have to worry about anything from the Greek world coming there," Sally informed Percy. She was excited that her son was finally going to learn about the other side of his family. And, it would be good for him to get away from all this war and fighting.

Percy nodded his head. It would be good for him to forget about all this crap here in America. He was also very curious in all this wizard stuff. He could do magic! He could just imagine the possibilities! The more he thought about it, the more excited he got.

"Anything else I need to know?" Percy asked his mother eagerly.

"Yes just one more thing. My father is, how do I say this, not _well liked _in the wizard world. He is evil. Now you must understand, he wasn't always evil. He was the best father in the world to me. But he was consumed in grief, anger, and fury when my mother was killed in a crossfire by a half-blood wizard. Of course no one else knows because their affair was a secret, still, my father loved my mother very much. He has killed a lot of people, so there are many that will hate you for his actions. But remember Percy, he was, and still probably is, a good man at heart. His name was Tom Marvelo Riddle. Maria Jackson was my mother's," Sally sighed sadly.

Percy nodded his head in acceptance. He felt sorry for his grandfather. He knew that love could ruin you. His situation with _Annabeth _was proof of that. He wasn't going to think badly of his grandfather.

"Now, I'm going to go fill out a spare form I have, requesting to allow you admission into the school. This is also your last chance to change your name if you want to," Sally got up and looked at him with her eyebrow raised.

Percy considered this carefully. He was going to a new place and start a new school. It was a fresh start for him. Did he want to be known as Perseus Jackson?

"Change my name to Percy Tom Riddle."


	2. Chapter 2

The plane ride to England was terrifying to say the least. Sally had quickly sent a letter to Hogwarts through an owl - something that still shocked Percy - and was able to book some tickets for the next morning. Percy had woken up extremely early, well, early for him at least. He had packed his stuff into a duffle bag, keeping it light because his mother had told him that they would be buying everything they needed for school when they got to England. Percy had cleaned up nicely. This was going to be the beginning of a new life for him, and he wanted to make some good first impressions. He wore a dark blue dress shirt with the top buttons undone, black jeans, navy converse, and a black wind-breaker. His hair was as messy as ever, despite his futile attempts to comb it.

Throughout the entire ride, Percy's mother did her best to keep his mind on other things. She began telling him everything she knew about the wizarding world. She told him about Hogwarts, the money the wizards used, how they didn't know anything about mortals. She explained the government, the transportation, and the sports they played.

"But Mom, how will I play Quiddich!" Percy burst out when his mother was telling him about the famous sport.

"Don't worry Percy! Remember, the wizarding world is heavily shrouded by Mist, and Zeus won't be able to notice if you were in the sky! You'll be perfectly safe!" Sally had reassured him before continuing with her explanation. She told him more about his grandparents as well.

After a few hours, the plane had finally landed. Percy had never been so glad to see the ground. He was tempted to start kissing the ground, but that would just have been embarrassing. They got a taxi and drove to the outskirts of London. Sally had explained to Percy that there was a secret place in the woods that was used for transporting via Floo powder. Sally had told him that this particular Floo Network connection was undetectable by Ministry of Magic.

They got off the taxi in a desolated area. To one side of them, were the woods, and to the other side, were barren hills. Sally led them through the woods in a seemingly random direction, but Percy had a feeling that she knew exactly where she was going. Although, he was a little bothered that she was being so secretive about it. Eventually, they stopped in front of a huge boulder covered in moss.

"Here we are!" Sally exclaimed cheerfully.

Percy spun around and gave his mother an incredulous look. There was nothing there! He looked at the boulder again and realised that it actually wasn't a boulder. It was a large, vaguely rectangular object that was made out of stone. It was covered in moss and ivy, and had a few plants growing out of it. Percy decided that it looked like some kind of old shed.

"Mom, what _is _this?" Percy asked carefully.

Sally ignored him and went up to the shed. She stared at it for a few seconds before rapping her knuckles against a few selected spots in a certain pattern. Suddenly, there was a rumbling sound, and the stones making up the front of the shed collapsed, revealing a dark tunnel.

Percy gaped at the entrance in shock. His eyes were wide open and his mouth kept opening and closing. If he were in water, he could have passed off as a fish.

"Well, let's get going then!" Sally said, giving her son an amused smile as she began walking into the tunnel.

Percy quickly gathered himself and scrambled after his mother. The minute he entered, the stones flew back up to cover the entrance again, leaving both mother and son trapped in darkness. Percy began breathing heavily. He did not like small spaces. But just as he was about to say something, he felt his mother drop something on the floor. The second it hit the floor, flames burst to life, encasing the tunnel in light. But the flames weren't just any old flames. They were green flames, sort of like Greek fire, apart from the fact that they appeared out of nowhere and didn't burn his skin. In fact, they seemed kind of cold.

"Percy, this is Floo travel. Now, just repeat what I say _carefully_ and make sure you pronounce it correctly, okay?" Sally told her son seriously. It was important that he got this right.

Percy nodded uncertainly.

"Diagon Alley!" Sally vanished in an eruption of fire. Percy swallowed before steeling his nerves.

"Diagon Alley!" he shouted, before he too disappeared into the flames.

Now, if you ever got the chance to Floo travel, Percy would definitely recommend going for it. It was like zooming through the air at speeds thought impossible in a flurry of flames. Percy caught glimpses of other fires and hearths, but before he could get a better look, he had zoomed past. It gave him a warm, tingly feeling in his stomach. Like there were a load of lava bubbles flowing through his veins. Percy loved every second of it.

And then it stopped. Percy blinked his eyes to clear his vision and focused on his surroundings. He was in a fireplace in an old, musty room. The room had grey walls and the paint was peeling. There were a few tables scattered across the floor and a reception desk thing in the far corner. But what Percy really found weird, were the people. They were of all genders, ages, and sizes. Some were sitting at the tables while others walked aimlessly around. They all wore what appeared to be robes, and some had pointy hats. A few glanced at him, but didn't seem too interested, despite the fact that he appeared out of nowhere. None of them seemed very happy.

"Hurry Percy, we need to get a room," Percy's mom called back at him, already walking over to the reception desk.

"Mom, where are we?" Percy asked curiously.

"This is The Leaky Cauldron. We're going to stay here for the night. Your train for school leaves tomorrow," Sally told him before turning to speak to the receptionist - an old guy with a bald head, and a wrinkly face with no teeth. He looked like a toothless walnut, in Percy's opinion.

After a few words with the man, Sally took an old fashioned key from him and thanked him.

"Right. So our room is number nine, corridor two. We'll drop off our bags and then hit the shops!" Sally smiled, leading her son towards the rickety old staircase along the wall.

The two went up the stairs and past a lot of doors before finally stopping in front of a grey door that had a brass nine on it. Sally opened the door to reveal a dark room. The walls were peeling grey paint, like the rest of the building, and there was a small coffee table in the middle of the room. A number of mismatched armchairs surrounded the coffee table, and a single light bulb hung from the ceiling. There were three doors along the right wall.

"One of those is your room, the other is mine. The third one is the bathroom," Sally informed her son.

Percy nodded and opened the second door. Inside, was another small room. There was a small bed and a small wardrobe. Beside the bed, was a dresser, and on the other side, was an old wicker chair. Percy dropped his bag onto the chair and flopped down onto the bed. It wasn't too hard, but it wasn't really soft either. He decided that it was better than nothing and quickly left the room.

Outside, his mother was leaning against the wall, an unreadable expression on her face. Ever since they had arrived, his mom had been acting more closed off and withdrawn. It really worried Percy. His mom was a happy, cheerful person. He didn't like seeing her so, so, _melancholic. _

"Mom? You ready to go?" he tentatively asked.

Sally jumped a bit before quickly pulling on a smile. She didn't want Percy to think that there was something wrong. He was so excited, and she wasn't going to let anything ruin it for him.

"Yes sweetie, let's go!"

They walked back down the stairs and past the old man (who, Percy later learned, was called Tom). However, the minute Percy stepped out the door and looked up, he froze in shock. He was looking down a bustling street filled with lots of people. The people wore all kinds of weird and wacky clothing and hurried along the stone path. There were all kinds of strange shops with strange names selling even stranger things. One shop sold _brooms! _And another sold _robes! _There was one particularly colourful one that sold crazily-named sweets! It all seemed very joyful and exciting!

But if Percy looked closely, he could see the tensed shoulders, he could hear the hushed whispers, he could _feel _the fear radiating from everyone. He knew why this was. It was because of the war against his grandfather, Tom, or as he now calls himself, Lord Voldemort. Percy shook those thoughts away. Now wasn't the time to be focused on those sort of things.

"Mom! What _is _this place!" he asked in wonder. Sally chuckled at her son's look of awe.

"This is Diagon Alley! This is where we are going to get all your stuff for school!" Sally ginned at him. "Now let's get shopping!"

First, Sally had told Percy to wait while she went to Gringotts - the wizard bank - to get some money. She was back in a few minutes with a bag full of gold coins and a huge grin on her face, They bought all of the necessary books - Percy didn't really pay attention during that. They bought his robes, they bought him a broom and they bought him a trunk. They then went to get him a pet. Percy looked at them all carefully before he decided on buying the only snake. It was a bluish green colour and was an appropriate size. The funny thing was, Percy could understand what the snake was saying. His mom said that it was because he was a parselmouth like his grandfather.

The last thing they had to do, was get a wand. The shop they went into was called _**Ollivanders. **_It was small and musty. There a desk at the front and Percy could see that the rest of the room was filled with small boxes. A small man scurried out from behind the shelves.

"Hello! Hello! I am Ollivander and you are?" he greeted smiling.

"Hi. I'm Percy J-Riddle. I'm Percy Riddle," Percy introduced himself, wincing at his slip-up.

Ollivander's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. He quickly righted himself and cleared his throat.

"Well then, , this should be very curious indeed!" Ollivander exclaimed before running back into the labyrinth of shelves and coming back with a lot of boxes.

"Let's get started then!"

Percy tried all the wands that Ollivander picked out, but none of them worked. He was supposed to feel a spark or something when he got the right wand, but so far, he had felt nothing. His hand was exhausted from waving around so much and he felt like this was hopeless. Finally, Ollivander came back with one more box.

"This is the last one that I have for you to try. But it couldn't possibly be it!" Ollivander sighed and handed him the wand.

When Percy picked up the wand, he felt something flow through him. **_Power_**. It seeped into his bones and he felt like the world was at his finger tips. A cool breeze came from nowhere and blew through his hair, leaving behind the smell of salt water. Percy felt like he could do anything!

"Oh my goodness!" Ollivander exclaimed in shock. "Thirteen and a half inches; Ash and Pine mix; Phoenix feather and Unicorn Hair core ... how very, very curious indeed!"

Ollivander spun back around to Percy.

"You, my boy, are going to do many, many great things! May Fate be with you! It was a pleasure meeting you! A pleasure!"

Somehow, Percy knew that Ollivander knew something. The small man may have been weird and old, but he definitely knew something. And Percy would bet anything that, that something was not good.

* * *

Percy's mom had been quiet ever since they had left Ollivanders. She didn't say a word and seemed to be in deep thought about something. Percy had tried to get her to talk to him, but after a few failed attempts, he gave up. Besides, it wasn't like he didn't have stuff to think about. Like the wand tucked into his back pocket. _His _wand.

Both mother and son walked in silence. The streets had cleared out now. Percy picked up his snake from the pet store, noticing the strange look the shop owner gave him. He had wanted to get it earlier, but his mom had told him that it would be easier to just get it last. He would have to think up a name for it soon.

When they got back, The Leaky Cauldron was pretty much empty. It looked even gloomier now that it was dark. They went to their room and got ready for bed. Percy was just about to enter his room, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He spun around and came face to face with his mother.

"Sleep well Percy. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. And don't worry, everything will turn out al right. You'll see. Goodnight," with that cryptic remark, she gave his a hug and a light kiss on his forehead before disappearing into her room.

Percy flopped into his bed tired and confused. he didn't know what his mom meant. He didn't know what Ollivander meant. Everything was just so confusing! But one thing was clear enough. Tomorrow was going to be his first day of school and he was damned if he was going to go looking like a zombie. With that last thought, he succumbed to his well earned rest.


	3. Chapter 3

Percy woke up bleary eyed and disorientated. It was still quite early in the morning and he wouldn't normally be up till much later, but he had felt something slithering along his legs. He looked around, still a bit dazed, and came face to face with a pair of intelligent purple eyes. It was a snake. Percy let out a shrill, 'very manly' scream and jumped back, falling off the bed and knocking his elbow against the dresser in the process.

"_Are you all right master?" _a voice hissed in his head.

Percy looked around around wildly, not recognising the room he was in and wondering why there was a snake in the room, or better yet, why he could _understand _the snake. Then it hit him. He was in England. He was a wizard. He had a pet snake. Percy sighed in relief and got up, groaning as his elbow ached in pain.

"_Yeah, I'm fine. And don't call me master," _Percy replied, the parseltongue coming easily to him.

"_Of course My Lord," _the snake nodded, bowing slightly.

Percy sighed and shook his head. Horses, snakes, they all say that he is their lord, but never listen to him!

"You know, I really need to give you a name," Percy remarked. The snake hissed in agreement.

Percy stretched his arms and rubbed his eyes. Normally, he would open the windows, except this room didn't have any. He yawned and realised that he was still in the clothes he was wearing yesterday. He must have been too tired to change. Percy sighed and grabbed a fresh set of clothes and his toothbrush before walking out to the bathroom. He would have preferred to go back to sleep, but he was too awake now, so there wasn't any point.

After taking a quick shower, he emerged from the bathroom, wearing a light blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and tan cargo pants. Percy was about to go back into his room, when he saw his mother sitting in one of the armchairs with a piece of parchment in her hand.

"Hey mom, what's that?" he asked curiously as he sat down opposite her.

Sally jumped slightly before realising that it was just her son.

"Oh this? This is just a letter from the headmaster of Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore. He wants you to come directly to his office instead of taking the train," Sally informed him.

"How do I do that?" Percy asked confusedly. How could he go straight to someone's office?

"The Floo powder Percy," his mom explained patiently. Percy flushed in embarrassment. He had forgotten about that.

While he was talking to his mom, his snake had slithered up the armchair and draped itself around Percy's shoulders. She seemed quite comfortable there, and Percy had to admit, he didn't exactly mind. Her skin was warm and dry, not slimy, like he first thought it would be. She was also actually really big, she had to wrap herself around him twice, and Percy was pretty tall, 6 foot to be exact.

'_I really need to give her a name_' he thought to himself. He wanted the name to have something to do with water, and also to be Greek, as a way of showing his Greek heritage. Clyte? Rydia? Cyrena? Aqua? No, no Aqua.

"What do you think? Clyte, Rydia, or Cyrena?" he asked the snake, automatically switching to parseltongue. The snake thought about it for a moment.

"_Cyrena. That name is derived from the name of that water nymph, Cyrene, wasn't it? She was a good fighter. I like that name." _the snake replied satisfactorily.

Percy nodded in agreement. He never knew his snake was so smart. "Yeah! Cyrena. It suits you!"

"That does suit her, doesn't it?" Sally commented.

Percy was shocked. His mother could understand what they were saying? Then he internally face-palmed. Of course. Even though she was a squib, she was still his grandfather's daughter. Obviously she would be a parselmouth too. Percy felt a bit stupid now.

"Um yeah," he muttered. Suddenly, Percy thought of something.

"Mom, you know the way you said you contained my wizard powers?" Percy started. Sally nodded, confused as to where he was going with this.

"Well, I was wondering, why can I do magic now if my powers are supposed to be contained?"

Sally's eyes widened in realisation.

"Oh yes! I didn't explain that to you, did I? Well, the spell was only going to last for an estimated time of about ten years. I cast the spell when you were six, making sure that I gave you a memory wipe potion. That's why you can't remember. The spell would have begun to slowly wear off around now anyway. For a few days, you will find it a bit difficult to do magic, but it won't last long," she explained.

Percy nodded in acceptance. But then, he thought of something else.

"Mom, yesterday, why did no one talk to us? And where were all the children!" Percy asked sceptically.

"Percy, the wizards are afraid. My father is a powerful wizard, and they fear that they will be killed. We are new here. No one has ever seen us before, and so automatically suspect that we are associates of Voldemort. They don't trust us and would rather keep their distance. As for the children, well, school has already started so all the kids will be at school," Sally sighed.

Percy nodded and let his mind wonder.

'_What if they don't like me either? What if they think I'm working for my grandfather?" _he worried.

"_Don't worry My Lord. You will be fine," _Cyrena's soothing voice hissed in Percy's head.

Percy sighed and nodded. He was grateful that he had at least one friend.

"Thanks Cyrena. I needed that," he muttered softly, methodically stroking her leathery skin.

* * *

Percy was incredibly nervous. He had quickly tossed all his belongings into his trunk and carried it downstairs. After eating a healthy breakfast of scrambled eggs, rashers, and buttered toast, he was all set to go. His mother had given him two full bags of those gold coins, which he had put into his trunk. Right now, he stood in front of the fireplace, his trunk in one hand, some Floo powder in the other.

"Okay Percy. Remember, the wizards don't know about the Gods, so you _have _to keep that a secret. Keep your wand close, and try hard in school. I know that you're nervous, but you will do fine. Besides, you have Cyrena with you. Good luck. Don't forget, I'll be proud of you no matter what. I love you," Sally choked out, giving her son a tight hug and lovingly kissing his forehead. She was not going to cry. She was not!

Percy immediately hugged his mother back just as tightly. It hadn't hit him till now, but he was leaving his mother. He was _leaving _her. He wouldn't see her again until the holidays. She was going to be so lonely. Suddenly, going to Hogwarts didn't seem so appealing any more. But as if she were reading his mind, his mother smiled softly and shook her head.

"Nu uh! I know that look! You are going to Hogwarts young man! Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. You need to go learn how to do magic!" she told him sternly.

Percy smiled sadly at his mother's selflessness. He was glad that he had at least Cyrena with him. He remembered what had happened when he had come downstairs with Cyrena wrapped around his shoulders. Most of the people had let out a few shrieks, one guy even fainted! They had all suddenly seemed to be in such a hurry to leave.

Percy brought his attention back to his mother. He gave her one last tight hug, before walking into the fireplace with his trunk. His mother gave him a watery smile. Percy knew that she was trying to be strong for him.

"Dumbledore's office. You know what to do right?" Sally said cheerfully, trying to hide her misery. She could feel her eyes begin to water.

Percy took a deep breath and put on his usual carefree grin, before throwing down the powder and yelling in a clear voice.

"Dumbledore's office!"

* * *

When Percy opened his eyes, he saw that he was in *a large and beautiful circular room, full of funny little noises. A number of curious silver instruments stood on spindle-legged tables, whirring and emitting little puffs of smoke. The walls were covered with portraits of old men and woman, - past headmasters and headmistresses he presumed - all of whom were snoozing gently in their frames. There was also an enormous, claw-footed desk, and, sitting on a shelf behind it, a shabby, tainted wizard's hat.

"Hello there young man, and who might you be?" a voice came from behind him.

Percy jumped and spun around, his hand flying to his pocket where his wand and Riptide were. Behind him, stood and old man. The man was tall and thin with silver hair, and a beard so long that it reached his waist. He had a slightly crooked nose and twinkling eyes that were a unique shade of blue. The man wore sparkling purple robes, and half-moon spectacles. He had a pointed, purple hat on his head. Judging by the way he looked at him, like he was piercing his soul, Percy decided that Dumbledore was probably some kind of Chiron 2.0.

"Oh, I'm Percy sir, Percy Riddle. You must be Professor Dumbledore," Percy introduced himself, holding out his hand.

Dumbledore's eyes sparkled in interest as he shook Percy's hand.

"Ah yes! ! It is a pleasure to finally meet you! Could I tempt you with a lemon drop?" Dumbledore smiled, taking a seat at the desk and gesturing for Percy to do the same.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, sir. And no, I would rather not take the lemon drop. It might upset my stomach," Percy replied politely.

Dumbledore nodded and inspected the boy in front of him. He was quite tall and well-built. You could definitely see the resemblance between him and a younger Voldemort. They had the same aristocratic face, they both had jet black hair, although Percy's was messy while Voldemort's had been neatly combed. They both had green eyes, but Percy's were more of a sea-green colour while Voldemort's had been a dark green. Also, Voldemort was pale, but Percy had a golden-bronze tan. Apart from that, they both had the same charming aura, they were both incredibly handsome, and they had the same noses. And their choices in pets wasn't too different either.

"Well then, Percy. Let's get started. Since today is the start of a new term, all the students will be gathered in the Grand Hall. I will introduce you to the students and you will be sorted into a house. I trust you know all about the houses," Dumbledore questioned.

Percy nodded. His mother had told him a lot about Hogwarts.

"Good. After you are sorted, you will be moved into a dorm. As for what year you are to be put in, I have decided that you shall be put in year five. You have only recently turned sixteen I believe, so you are too young to be put in year six. Don't worry about catching up, you will be having extra lessons with some of the teachers. You can leave your trunk here. As for your snake, well, I don't think it would be wise to leave her in my office," Dumbledore explained, his eyes twinkling a bit towards the end.

Percy nodded as he loaded all this information into his brain. He was going to have to work hard, but he was willing to do it, for his mother. He just hoped that he could make some good friends. Going through a wizard school by himself didn't really seem much fun. Also, he was going to be taking some extra lessons with the teachers. That was something that made anyone nervous.

"_Do not fret My Lord. Everything will be fine. Just focus on getting the Sorting done" _Cyrena hissed.

Percy nodded and took a deep breath. It wasn't such a big deal. It wasn't like he was going to get sorted into a house by a hat in front of the entire student population. Oh wait, that's exactly what it was!

Percy was not looking forward to this.

* * *

**Done! Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it! Please review! Oh, and I was wondering, should I do a 'Percy and Harry are brothers' story sometime? Tell me what you think! You are all amazing people! Love you all! XOXO**


	4. Chapter 4

Hermoine wasn't a great believer in luck. She figured that everything happened for a reason, _not_ because there was some other force making them happen. But even she had to admit, the year wasn't so good so far.

First, Harry had almost gotten himself expelled by performing under-age magic in the presence of a muggle, but that wasn't his fault! Luckily, Dumbledore had been able to vouch for him and use some loopholes to let him stay.

Then, they had discovered that The Daily Prophet had launched a smear campaign against anyone who claimed that Lord Voldemort had returned, focusing mainly on Harry and Dumbledore. Hermoine could tell that Harry was feeling shunned and betrayed.

Afterwards, they had been taken to Sirius Black's house, 12 Grimmauld Place.

Hogwarts had gotten a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, that pink toad Umbridge, who wouldn't teach anything. Ron's father got attacked by Voldemort. The Slytherins were sucking up to Umbridge. Harry's nightmares were getting worse.

The only good thing that happened so far this year, was that herself and Ron had managed to get Harry to start an army. Dumbledore's Army.

And on top all of this off, Hogwarts was apparently going to have a new student, one that was going to be in the same year as herself. Of course, none of this was definite, just a bunch of rumours, but it _would _explain why the professors were acting so strange. They seemed to be nervous, but curious at the same time. It was all rather odd.

Hermoine shook those thoughts out of her head and looked at Ron, who had been staring at her expectantly.

"Hm? What was that?" she asked.

Ron rolled his eyes. "I asked you about the new guy. God Hermoine, will you ever stop thinking!"

"Will you ever start thinking!" Hermoine retorted, "And what about the new guy?"

"We heard that he was supposed to be really powerful! Maybe even as powerful as you Harry!" Fred joined in on the conversation, nodding at Harry.

Harry just shrugged. "I dunno. Sirius and Dumbledore wouldn't tell me anything, but they seemed mighty nervous," he explained, looking around to make sure that no one was listening. It would be disastrous if someone found out that we had been hanging out with Sirius Black, supposed murderer and escapee of Azkaban.

Hermoine glanced up at the Head Table, and quickly noticed something odd. She turned back to her friends at the Gryffindor table.

"Has anyone seen Dumbledore?" she asked with a frown.

Her friends looked at the Head table and realised that their Headmaster wasn't seated in his golden chair as he usually would be.

"He's gone," Ron stated.

Hermoine resisted the urge to roll her eyes at that obvious statement. It also didn't help that she found Ron dumbfounded expression incredibly endearing. She internally sighed and slapped herself. She had been having these kind of thoughts about Ron for a while now. She knew that it meant she was crushing on him, but that didn't mean that she had acknowledge it. Ginny had mentioned it to her before, but she had insisted that it was nothing, because honestly, it was _Ron_.

He was a complete idiot, and pretty stupid most of the time. He wasn't even that good looking! How could Hermoine, intelligent, logical Hermoine, have a crush on _him_. No. It wasn't possible. Although, she had to admit, he did do some pretty brave things at times.

Hermoine was about to make some sarcastic remark about how she had figured that bit out already, when the doors to the Great Hall opened. Heads spun around and followed the two figures walking up to the Head Table. In the lead, was Dumbledore, dressed in glimmering purple robes. he was walking with his usual confident stride and the ever-present twinkle in his eye sparkled in amusement.

But it was the boy behind him that captured everybody's interest. The boy was about six feet tall, and looked around fifteen or sixteen. He had feathery, raven locks that were styled into a naturally windblown look. His skin was well toned, a visible six pack under his light blue dress shirt, and had a golden-bronze tan. His face was flawless, perfectly symmetrical, and his eyes were the most gorgeous shade of sea-green. He looked like he was carved from marble. And to add to his divine appearance, was a bluish-green snake that had draped itself around the boy's shoulders.

If Hermoine said that she was not one of the many girls that nearly fainted from seeing the boy's good looks, she would be the biggest liar in existence. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that most of the other girls near her were feeling the same way. Hermoine quickly turned her attention back to Dumbledore, who was standing at the podium. Once everyone's attention was back on him, Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"Good evening young witches and wizards! I welcome you all back to a new term! I hope you all have had a good Christmas!" he began. "Now, I know that there have been some rumours going about, and I will make sure to address them tonight. I know that I usually give a speech, but we sadly don't have the time. Instead, I will now bring your attention to this young man here."

The boy gave an awkward wave.

"This is Percy Riddle, grandson of Tom Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort. He is a new student that has just arrived to England from the United States. He shall now be sorted. Could you please come up here ."

The entire Hall went silent. There was only one thing running through Hermione's mind. _Riddle. He was a Riddle. _She felt like whacking herself on the head with a book. She didn't know how she had missed it. The good looks. The green eyes. The air of charm. The fact that he had a _snake _wrapped around his neck. Obviously he was related to Voldemort.

Hermione noticed how everyone seemed to come to the same conclusion. Some began to glare at him, while others simply looked at him, unable to comprehend what they were seeing. The professors didn't seem all to surprised. Rather, they seemed more anxious and concerned. Hermione brought her attention back to the boy. He was sitting on a stool on the raised platform, and the Sorting Hat was placed on him.

Hermione idly wondered where the hat had come from; it hadn't been there earlier.

The hat was silent for a while. Five minutes, to be exact. It seemed to be talking to the boy in his head though, if the various facial expressions were anything to go by. Finally, the hat spoke.

"This has been by far, the most _interesting _person I have ever had to sort. You have many distinct qualities, my young lad. But it seems clear to me, that you would do best in..."

* * *

**Percy**

When Percy stepped into the Great Hall, he was overwhelmed. The sheer size of it shocked him. He would have sworn that the place had no roof, if not for the fact that it was raining outside, but perfectly dry in here.

The walls towered above him, and the room was lit by _floating candles_! He turned his attention back to the view in front of him, feeling significantly small in the large room. He followed Dumbledore up to the huge table directly opposite the entrance, taking notice of the two, long tables on either side of them. To his immediate left, was a table with a bronze and blue flag hanging above it. The flag had the emblem of an eagle, and the people sitting at the table were looking at him curiously. Percy guessed that it was the table for Ravenclaw.

Next to that table, was another, almost identical one. The only difference, was that this one had a silver and green flag. The emblem on this one, was a snake. The people sitting here were giving him cold, calculating stares. Percy knew that this was the Slytherin table. The table he would most likely end up in, given his heritage and all.

To Percy's right, were two other similar tables. The one closest to him, had a red and gold flag with a roaring lion emblem. The people there kept shooting him suspicious and cautious glances. Probably Gryffindor.

The last table had a flag of black and yellow, their emblem being a badger. The people sitting there seemed friendly and generally happy. Some gave him polite smiles, but other than that, most just seemed uninterested. This one had to be Hufflepuff.

As Percy observed all of this, he kept feeling increasingly nervous. Hufflepuff seemed like the nicest house, but didn't give him any purpose. Slytherin was where his ancestors went, didn't seem too friendly or inviting. Ravenclaw seemed nice enough, but there was no way he was smart enough to get in there. So Gryffindor seemed like the best option out of the lot, even if they _were _a little judgemental.

Before Percy could ponder any more on the subject, Dumbledore decided to bring everyone's attention to him.

_'Great! It's not like any more attention or anything!' _Percy thought miserably.

He awkwardly waved when he saw everyone's eyes on him once again. But it was Dumbledore's announcement that Percy was a Riddle and the grandson of Lord Voldemort, that brought the entire hall to silence. Now most people were glaring at Percy. He would have cringed, if not for the fact that he had been in worse situations before. He could barely hold back a blush as it was.

Dumbledore chose to save him any more embarrassment, to Percy's utter relief, and waved him over to a stool that had not been there before. In his hand, was the old hat Percy had seen earlier in his office.

Percy sat down on the stool, wondering how the hat had gotten there.

**"I flew"**

Normally, Percy would have jumped in surprise. But he had gotten used to hearing Cyrena's voice in head, that this didn't really surprise him, just gave him a small fright.

**"Ah, a brave one, I see. You have a very interesting mind, young half-blood. Many secrets."**

Percy felt uneasy at that. The hat was going to know all him secrets.

**"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. You can trust me. Now, where to put you?"**

Percy let out a sigh of relief before tensing up again.

**"Hmm. You are brave, no doubt about that. You have the traits necessary for Gryffindor. But you also have a dark side. Your ancestors were all Slytherins. You're extremely loyal, and humble about your achievements, not to mention your affinity to the earth, considering that your father is the Earth-Shaker. The very thing we look for in a Hufflepuff. And you are smart, in your own way. Not book smart maybe, but definitely street smart. You are a very unique character indeed," **the hat mused.

For the next few minutes, the hat didn't say anything, seeming deep in thought. This only served to agitate Percy even more. It seemed like the hat was hinting towards Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. But it was a talking hat. Who knew what went on in it's mind. Finally, just as Percy was about to snap, the hat spoke up, out loud this time.

"This has been by far, the most _interesting _person I have ever had to sort. You have very distinct qualities, my young lad. But it seems clear to me, that you would do best in..."

* * *

**Yes I know. I'm evil. I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist! The temptation was too great! What House will Percy be put in? It will be the House that best describes his adventures. The answer's actually super obvious, so most of you should guess it. This isn't really much of a cliffhanger at all! I was just too lazy to write any more. Sorry for the long wait. I've had a super busy week! If there are any mistakes, then please point them out to me. Thanks for reading. Please review! XOXO**


	5. Chapter 5

"Ravenclaw!"

The Great Hall froze. Percy was no different. His head was swimming with questions.

_'Why was I put in Ravenclaw? I'm not smart! If I was, she wouldn't have broken up with me!'_

But before he could express his confusion, Dumbledore began to clap, resulting in the entire Hall to burst into a hesitant applause. The hat was taken off of him, and he was led over to the Ravenclaw table. A girl with dirty blonde hair and silvery grey eyes - features that were commonly found on a child of Athena - scooted over and patted the seat next to her.

Percy gave her a grateful smile and sat down. He couldn't help but think that she was very pretty, even while dressed in robes.

"Hey, I'm Percy, Percy Riddle," he introduced himself, not hesitating as he said his last name. He wasn't ashamed to be a Riddle, and he was going to make sure that these people knew that.

The girl just flashed him a dreamy smile, not seeming to be bothered to be sitting next to a Riddle.

"Hello. My name is Luna Lovegood. It's a pleasure to meet you," the girl offered him a pale hand.

Percy shook her hand, noting that she had a pleasant voice and extremely soft skin.

"I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time at Ravenclaw Percy. You don't exactly need to be book smart to make it you know. I'm sure you belong here!" Luna reassured him, a knowing glint in her eye.

Percy wondered how she knew what he was thinking. He briefly considered mind reading, but quickly shook that thought away. Even magic couldn't do that, right? Before Percy could ponder any more on the matter, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He glanced up to see Luna's amused smirk.

"Not even here for a few minutes, and you've already begun thinking. Didn't I tell you. There's always a reason. You are a Ravenclaw; you just never realised it."

Percy noticed how Luna seemed to have the ability to turn a casual conversation into something deep. He found it slightly endearing.

"Well hello there!" a voice suddenly called.

Percy looked up and came face to face with a boy. Percy automatically leaned back, his hand flying to his pocket. He took a moment to observe the boy. The boy was pretty tall, just an inch or so shorter than Percy, and looked about the same age. He had fair skin and dark, combed hair. Percy supposed that he could be considered handsome, with deep blue eyes, a strong jawline, pointy nose and high cheekbones. His robes were clean, and pristine, looking as though they were ironed while he wore them. The only thing that bothered Percy, was the boy's slightly arrogant smile.

"Congratulations on getting into the best house at Hogwarts! I'm Robert Hilliard, Prefect. I'll be looking forward to seeing you around! And don't worry about us being unwelcoming. We aren't like those Gryffindors! Judgemental fellows they are!" the boy frowned slightly.

Percy could immediately tell that this boy was a bit arrogant. But he preferred to judge people after he had gotten to know them.

"But Luna's right you know! We aren't all just a bunch of nerds! Wit, creativity, originality, individuality, and acceptance are also traits of Ravenclaw. I'm sure you'll fit right in!" Robert flashed an encouraging grin.

Percy nodded. He got the feeling that most people were pretty judgemental towards Ravenclaws, and acceptance being a trait was their way of defiance. Percy's mouth twitched at the thought. Maybe he did belong here.

"_I'm sure you do My Lord_"

Percy almost jumped in fright. Cyrena had been so quiet; he almost forget that she was there. He figured she would appreciate it if her presence was made obvious.

"Um hey, this is Cyrena, my snake," Percy nodded at the snake wrapped around his neck, internally wincing at how lame he had sounded.

Luna and Robert looked at the snake in interest, rather than the disgust Percy was expecting, and waved. Cyrena hissed and rose up to to look into Luna's eyes. Percy had to give the girl some credit for not even flinching; he would've been practically shaking in fear. But Cyrena didn't seem to have any interest in devouring her, as she hissed and moved away to do the same to Robert. Robert wasn't as certain as his younger classmate. Percy could hear him loudly gulp, but admired him for not moving away and looking the snake straight in the eyes.

The snake nodded and returned to its former position; wrapped around Percy's neck. Percy grinned, glad that his snake had accepted his new friends.

"So, um, where is all the f-" Percy trailed off as the table was suddenly filled with food of every kind. And he was certain that there was food of every kind. With a start, he realised that Dumbledore must have been giving a speech of some sort, and he had completely ignored him. It was probably not a very good first impression.

"Wow. That's a lot of food," he stated.

Robert chuckled. "Well, go on then! Bon appetite!"

Percy didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed a juicy chicken leg and tore into it, savouring the delicious taste. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed most of the others doing the same. Percy figured that even if Hogwarts turned out to be the worst place on Earth, at least they had good food.

* * *

It was after five chicken legs, four treacle puddings, and seven cups of pumpkin juice - a drink Percy had come to adore - that Percy had decided to stop eating. His stomach was full and his eyes were beginning to droop. Cyrena had fallen asleep after devouring an entire chicken. Percy smiled contentedly and let out an yawn.

"Tired?" Luna smiled kindly.

Percy just grinned sheepishly and nodded.

"Well don't worry, we will going back to our dorms now."

And true enough, everyone started getting up and walking out the door in lines. Percy stood up and stretched, missing how some girls looked at his abs.

"Come on! Follow me! The Head Boy will bring everyone up to the dorms, but I know a quicker way!" Robert grinned, waving them over.

Percy smirked and followed the older boy out one of the side doors; Luna hot on his trail. They ran through a couple of random corridors, each one filled with _talking __paintings_. Percy had been more than a little weirded out when one of the paintings called him 'a piece of hunky meat'.

The trio stopped in front of a painting, breathing heavily from the run. Percy took the chance to check out the picture. It looked like one of those games where you had to slide the tiles around to make the picture. He glanced at Robert questioningly.

"It's a secret entrance. Only those smart enough can get through. But it has an enchantment on it so that only Ravenclaws can see it!" Robert grinned impishly.

Luna's eyes lit up at the thought of a puzzle, and she walked up to the painting confidently. She looked at the image for about a minute before moving exactly three tiles. All of a sudden, the picture was complete. Percy didn't even want know how fast his friend had completed that. He noticed that the painting was actually a picture of the Ravenclaw crest.

Percy watched in fascination as the painting swung open, revealing a winding staircase. He probably wouldn't ever stop being amazed by magic.

The three students ducked through the entrance - which sealed itself shut once they were in - and began climbing the stairs.

"Cool isn't it! None of the other Houses have anything like this! And wait until we get to the top! Ravenclaw tower is one of the best places at Hogwarts!" Robert exclaimed excitedly.

"Oh I agree! Ravenclaw tower is absolutely wonderful!" Luna chimed in.

This only made Percy even more eager to see the place. He ran up the stairs as quickly as he could, trying not to wake up his pet. They finally reached the top; a round room with stone walls. Nothing else.

"Um, is there a door or something?" he asked lamely.

Robert shook his head with a smile. "No door," he smirked slyly.

Percy frowned and looked around once more. Robert spoke as if there was a way out, but there was no door. That meant that either, the door was disguised, or that it had -

"An enchantment!" Luna seemed to have come to the same conclusion. "There must be another enchantment here!"

Robert flashed a proud smile and nodded.

"Exactly! The walls are enchanted. You don't need a door, you just need to know which part of the wall is an enchanted illusion!"

Percy's eyes widened. Surely Robert wasn't suggesting that they had to _walk through the wall_! His eyes met Luna's and he could see the shock in them. It looked like they were on the same page.

Robert, however, was ignoring them, and had walked over to the west facing side of the wall. He took out his wand and tapped the stones in a peculiar pattern, muttering something as he did so. Finally, he spun around and beckoned the other two over.

"Right. This is the one. Just step through, and no, you won't walk into the wall, or get stuck in it. It's completely safe! Mostly," Robert claimed with a slight laugh.

Percy looked at him, and then back at the wall. He was very uncertain about this, but he didn't get the usual bad feeling in his stomach that appeared when something wrong was going to happen, so he deemed it safe enough. With a deep breath, he walked through the wall, desperately hoping that this worked.

* * *

When Percy first saw Camp Half-Blood, he was blown away. His reaction to the room he was now in, was pretty much the same. Percy's eyes widened comically and his jaw dropped open in awe. The room was possibly the most beautiful one he had ever been in.

It was a wide, circular room, with a midnight blue carpet, and a domed ceiling that was painted with stars. He could even see Zoe's constellation. There were arched windows that hung with blue and bronze silks, and many tables, chairs, and bookcases were scattered about in an organised, but untidy, fashion. Next to the door, stood a marble statue of a beautiful, but slightly intimidating, woman. She looked a little like Athena, now that he thought about it.

Percy just stood there, taking it all in. He had no doubt, that during the day, the view from there would be fantastic. Percy would have probably stood there for ages, if his friends didn't come knock him out of his daze.

"Beautiful, isn't it!" Luna smiled dreamily. Percy found himself wanting her to smile that smile more often. He nodded in response.

"Well, it's even better during the day! So how about we get to bed?" Robert suggested with a tired smirk.

"Yeah that sounds like a good idea," Percy wholeheartedly agreed.

"The boys dorms are this way then! You'll be rooming with Anthony, Terry, Michael, and myself!" Robert spoke while walking towards the doors behind the statue.

Percy bid Luna goodnight, and hurried after his other friend. He didn't really pay attention to where he was being led. He was far too tired, and he had the feeling that Robert felt the same.

"The other lads are probably taking the normal way up, so they will be a few minutes. I'm gonna hit the sack now. Goodnight Percy, and it's great to have you here," Robert dropped onto his bed, snoring before his face even hit the pillow.

Percy decided to follow his lead, and flopped down onto the only bed that wasn't taken. He buried his face into the sky blue, silk eiderdowns, thinking about his new friends. As he drifted to sleep, he thought,

'Maybe this was going to be okay after all'.

* * *

**There you go! Another chapter! I want to thank all my followers and reviewers. I never thought this story would attract so many readers! I loved what you guys thought about what House Percy would be put in! Keep giving me your opinions guys! It is great motivation! Now, I don't normally do replies to reviews, but I couldn't resist! Although I warn you, this won't be regular thing.**

**lol: Ha! This is what happens when you threaten an awesome author like me! *smirks smugly and gets hit in the eye by a cork* OW!**

**ILuffsNicoDiAngelo: *****ignores sarcasm***** Well you are very welcome! It's so nice to be appreciated!**

**Monkey Dragon: I was not lazy!...well maybe...I WILL NEVER CONFESS!**

**Thanks to everyone who reads this story! Any reviews will be appreciated, as I am aiming for a hundred, so yeah, please review! Any tips or advice will be very helpful. Thanks again! Love you all! XOXO**


	6. Chapter 6

Hermione was beyond shocked when the hat announced that the boy is to be in Ravenclaw. Hermione had been fully prepared to hear the Slytherins cheering as the grandson of their Dark Lord joined their house. But you couldn't blame her. The boy was the _grandson _of _Voldemort_. Why on Earth wouldn't he follow in his grandfather's footsteps.

Hermione watched as the boy, _Percy_, sat down at the Ravenclaw table, instantly capturing those stuck up know-it-alls' attention. She watched as the boy conversed with one of her close friends, Luna Lovegood. Luna seemed to like him. But Hermione had heard from Harry how charming Voldemort had been. Percy had obviously inherited that trait. Hermione betted that Percy would be able to charm anyone, what with those good looks.

Now that Hermione thought about more closely, Slytherin and Ravenclaw weren't really that different. Both houses were pretty stuck up and prideful. Slytherins were known for their cunning, ambitious natures, and Ravenclaws were known for intellect, and sometimes cold personalities. They actually went together pretty well. To be ambitious, you have to be smart, and to have such thirst for knowledge, meant to have ambition.

Voldemort was pretty sly and cunning, so his grandson probably inherited that. Although the boy didn't really look like the smart kind, but looks can be deceiving. Hermione knew that first hand; she still remembered Peter Pettigrew. She observed how the boy grinned happily at the prefect of Ravenclaw, Robert Hilliard. From Hermione's brief encounters with the older boy, she could tell that he was quite arrogant and cocky.

But her attention was really drawn by the extremely big snake that was wrapped around Percy's shoulders. It was a great indication to the boy's heritage; a snake being the symbol generally associated with Salazar Slytherin. It wasn't much of a surprise that the heir of Slytherin would have a snake for a pet. But what really puzzled Hermione was the fact that the snake was not one of any species that she knew of, and she knew about every specie of snake. She had done a bit of research after finding out about Voldemort's pet.

And she could definitely say that Percy's snake was not one that she had heard of before. The snake had bluish-green skin and purple eyes for Merlin's sake! Hermione yet again wondered if all heirs of Slytherin somehow bred their own unique breed of snakes. How else did they all manage to get such weird pets.

"He's a Death Eater no doubt!"

Hermione was brought out of her thoughts by Ron's not so quiet declaration.

"I'm telling you! He's a spy for Voldemort! He's gonna get us all killed!" Ron continued saying.

"Yeah I know. He's probably one of the leaders of the Death Eaters. In fact, he probably killed a few people himself!" Harry spat in agreement.

Hermione looked at her friend in concern. His emerald eyes had darkened in barely hidden fury. She knew that it probably killed him to see the grandson of the man that killed his parents walking around alive. She just hoped he wouldn't go do something rash in his anger.

"Why would Dumbledore let him come to Hogwarts anyway? What's the old man thinking!" Seamus asked incredulously from beside them.

Hermione wondered that about that too. What _was _the old wizard thinking. But Hermione had faith in her Professor; she knew he had some kind of plan.

"I dunno guys. I think we should give him a chance. He doesn't _look _all that evil honestly," Neville put in, pausing his quest for eating the most food without stopping.

That was one of the things Hermione admired the most about Neville. Even though Voldemort had been the cause for his parents' torture and death, Neville still wanted to give the grandson of the Dark Lord a chance. Neville truly had a golden heart.

"Tom Riddle didn't look evil either, and look how he turned out. Percy Riddle is no doubt evil, just like his grandfather," Harry answered darkly, putting an end to the matter.

The group spent the rest of the meal in silence, each occupied with their thoughts, (well, Ron and Neville were busy stuffing their faces, so everyone but them). Hermione was particularly occupied with thoughts of the green-eyed Ravenclaw. For some reason, her mind was determined to figure out the puzzle that was Percy Riddle.

The meal was over pretty quickly after that, and in no time, they were on their way to their dorms. As she was leaving the Hall, Hermione had noticed that Percy, Luna, and Robert had exited through a different door. As far as she was aware, Ravenclaw tower had only one entrance and exit. But she couldn't be sure.

She made an effort to listen to Ginny's endless chatter as they walked up to their dorm. Hermione roomed with Ginny, Parvati Patil, Lavender Brown, and Fay Dunbar. She got along well with most of the girls, but she was a little iffy when it came to Lavender. She suspected that Lavender had a crush on Ron, but she repeatedly told herself that she didn't care.

All the girls in the room were a part of the DA, so it wasn't awkward when they had any discussions about the Army. That is, if the topic was brought up at all. But Hermione was glad that she was in a room with people she liked. And having Ginny there was a bonus. She knew that the boys had some problems sometimes. Harry, Ron, Seamus, Neville, and Dean shared a room, and they didn't always get along.

As she thought about all this, Hermione threw off her robes, and got dressed into pyjama pants and a tank top. She snuggled up into the covers of her warm bed and closed her eyes in an attempt to sleep. But her mind was immediately brought back to the green eyed enigma that kept pushing his way into her mind. Hermione didn't know why she kept thinking about the boy, but she did know that Percy Riddle was a riddle she was determined to figure out.

* * *

The next morning, Hermione woke up with a smile. She didn't know why, but she was feeling particularly happy. She decided that it was probably just a nice dream she had but couldn't remember, and hopped out of bed, stretching and sighing in relief when she heard the vertebrae crack. She was up earlier than everyone else, as usual, and so got the bathroom first. She grabbed a towel and her robes, and set off to have a nice, warm shower.

When she was done, she waited down in the Gryffindor common room for her friends to finally get up. After a few minutes, the two sleepy boys somehow stumbled down the stairs with out falling, and flopped down into the armchairs next to Hermione. She rolled her eyes and stood up, her robes perfectly clean, unlike the wrinkled messes the boys were wearing.

"Come on. You'll be more awake after breakfast. We'll miss it if you don't hurry up," Hermione stated coolly, knowing that the last bit would get them to hurry up.

And sure enough, the two boys shot up at the mention of breakfast and ran out of the common room. Hermione chuckled at their antics, finding Ron extremely cute as he desperately sprinted to the Great Hall. She jogged after them, catching up as they were about to enter the Hall.

Their other friends were already at the table, waving them over. Hermione took note that Ginny was sitting next to Dean as she took her place. She knew that Ginny had a crush on Dean, and hoped that it would work out for them. Dean was a pretty nice guy.

Next to her, Hermione could see Harry staring at Cho Chang. She knew there was something going on between them, as they had kissed before the Christmas holidays. But she wasn't sure it was going to work out between them. Nevertheless, Hermione did her best to advise Harry in his love-life.

She sighed as she began to pick at her porridge. It seemed as if everyone was somehow romantically involved with someone else. This thought made her glace up at Ron, who was sitting across from her and stuffing his face with scrambled eggs. It confused her how she could find such a disgusting act so adorable. Another boy came to her mind, and she involuntarily looked towards the Ravenclaw table; her eyes immediately finding that perfect mop of black hair.

Hermione shook her head. She shouldn't be thinking those kind of things. Sure the boy was handsome, but he was the grandson of the Dark Lord. He probably didn't have a single good bone in his gloriously tanned body.

"Idiot," she muttered to herself, giving up on the porridge and instead settling for a buttered crumpet.

"What was that Hermione?" Ginny asked, her ginger eyebrow arched in bemusement.

"Oh, um, nothing," Hermione answered, a light blush covering her pale cheeks.

Ginny looked at her for a second and then shrugged.

"So I was saying how much of a dreamboat that new kid is. I mean, have you seen that body? And those eyes!" Ginny gushed, her eyes taking a hazy quality.

"Oh believe me, I have definitely seen," Hermione agreed absent-mindedly, her attention still on the boy in question.

He was eating pancakes and talking animatedly to Luna. His uniform was a bit of a mess; his shirt wasn't fully buttoned, revealing a bead necklace of some vsort and a perfect chest; his tie was loose around his neck; his black trousers were belted, but the shirt wasn't tucked into them. He wore blue and black converse, and his actual robe was hung over his arm. Normally, such tardiness would have annoyed Hermione, but she was a little too preoccupied at the moment.

"Why are you ogling at him? He's the grandson of You-Know-Who! Besides, he's not even that handsome!" Ron grumbled, an annoyed scowl on his face.

Hermione flushed in embarrassment.

"I was not _ogling_! I was merely observing. And I am well aware that he is the Dark Lord's grandson. That's just another reason for us to keep an eye on him," she told her friend calmly.

Ron just huffed and went back to his meal. Hermione rolled her eyes, wondering if Ron was jealous. That thought made her heart flutter a little. She finished off her crumpet and grabbed an apple, spending the rest of the meal talking to Ginny about the DADA teacher and other stuff about school.

* * *

When Hermione saw what class she had first, she couldn't help but groan.

"Wonderful. I have potions first!" she sighed.

Her classmates were looking equally upset at this.

"Come on guys. We don't want to give Snape yet another reason to take points from us," Harry frowned glumly and got up.

Hermione got up right away, and Ron soon followed. They waved goodbye to Ginny and made their way to the dungeons. As she passed the Ravenclaw table, she could see Luna waving at Percy as she ran off to join Ginny. She idly wondered what class Percy had, before shaking the thought out of her head. it didn't matter anyway. She wouldn't likely be seeing him in the morning.

The three students made it to the dungeons with five minutes to spare. They took their seats; Harry and Ron up at the front, and Hermione near the back. A Slytherin girl sat next to her. She was nice enough, well, as nice as a Slytherin could get. Hermione didn't really mind. It just bothered her that she was put at the back. No doubt Snape had done it on purpose.

She took out a piece of parchment and began listing some important potions and their uses to pass the time. After a few minutes, Snape finally arrived and began the lesson.

"Open up to chapter twenty-nine and-"

He was interrupted by the door slamming open. A familiar boy stood at the entrance, looking slightly apologetic.

"Terribly sorry sir. I got lost on my way. It won't happen again," the boy apologized.

Snape narrowed his eyes at him, but then gave a sharp nod.

"How nice of you to join us . Take a seat. And don't be late again," he snapped.

The boy nodded and took the only seat available. The seat next to Hermione. But Hermione was too busy trying to figure out why a Ravenclaw was in her class. She had just realized that the Slytherins weren't there. Instead, the room was filled with Gryffindors and Ravenclaws. She must have been too focused to notice.

"Hey I'm Percy. Percy Riddle," the boy introduced himself, holding out a hand.

Hermione looked at him. He had put on his robe, and his uniform now looked perfect. She felt herself being drawn in by his hypnotizing green eyes. She noticed that he had an American accent.

"Hermione Granger. It's a pleasure," she shook his hand politely, ignoring the way her heartbeat faltered when she touched his hand.

Percy flashed her a dazzling smile and softly kissed her knuckles.

"The pleasure is all mine Ms. Granger," he murmured softly.

Hermione could now understand why Voldemort had been able to fool so many people. If he had been even half as charming as his grandson, it would have been enough. Percy had some sort of aura around him. It reeled you in and left you dizzy, completely under his spell. Merlin! Hermione herself felt like she would do anything for the boy, but she snapped herself out of the daze.

'_No Hermione! He is the enemy! He is evil! Bad thoughts! Don't have these thoughts!_' she told herself fiercely.

But despite her words, Hermione knew, she wouldn't be able to keep away until she had solved the human puzzle sitting next to her.

* * *

**Okay so I know it's been a while since I last updated, and I'm sorry. I would have updated this earlier, but I'm pretty sick right now, so I couldn't. I was at a party at the very start of the holidays, and my friend and I decided to have a competition to see who could eat the most ice-cream. You can probably tell how that turned out. Yeah, not one of my best moments.**

**So anyway! Here is the next chapter. It is probably crap since I wrote while feeling like crap, so sorry if you're disappointed. Um, please review/favourite/follow. 79 reviews guys! Only 21 more to go and it'll be 100! YAY!**

**Thanks so much for reading! I love you all so much! I'm gonna stop wasting you're time now so BYEEEEE!**

**PS****. Yes I am aware that Percy is a little OOC in this, but this is a fanfiction and so I can make Percy as OOC as I want. Also this is needed for the plot. Thanks!**

**Oh! And check out my new story. It's a PJO and Avengers crossover! **

**Love you all! XOXO!**


	7. Chapter 7

Percy was very happy when he woke up. Well, he _was _for a few seconds before he noticed the three boyish faces hanging just centimetres from his head.

"What the Hades!" Percy screamed as he scrambled back in his bed.

The three boys leapt back and whipped out their wands.

"Move an inch, and we'll not hesitate to hex you!" a shortish boy with brown hair shouted.

Percy put his hands up in a surrender gesture, his snake still wound around his neck.

"Whoa! Whoa! Calm down dudes! I'm not moving! Now why don't you put down the wands and we can talk like normal, civilised people," he suggested calmly.

The three boys looked at each other uncertainly, and lowered their wands. Percy sighed in relief and put down his hands.

"Now, I don't think we've met. I'm Percy Riddle, and you are?" he offered his hand to them in greeting.

The three boys looked at each other once again, before the shortish boy from before shook Percy's hand.

"Hi, I'm Terry. Terry Boot," he introduced himself.

Next, a boy with short, blonde hair shook Percy's hand.

"Hey, my name's Anthony Goldstein. It's nice to meet you."

Finally, the last boy; a tallish, handsome guy with dark brown hair, introduced himself, ignoring Percy's hand.

"Michael Corner."

Percy nodded his head at them and heaved himself out of bed, making sure to gently drop his snake onto the pillow. He stretched his arms and yawned, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to fully wake himself up. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Robert still in bed; he still wore his robes from the night before. Percy decide to take this opportunity to observe the other three.

They were all dressed in their robes; neat, pristine. Terry had a youthful face, and seemed to be full of energy. His light brown hair was slightly messy and reached halfway down his forehead. He had bright, hazel eyes, and had a joyful grin on his face. He looked like someone Percy could get along well with.

Anthony was of average height, and had a slightly built figure. He had a handsome face, and seemed calm. His straight, blonde hair was neatly combed, and spiked up at the front. He had light green eyes, and wore an apologetic smile. He looked like someone who would do well in a chaotic situation.

Michael came off as a cold character. He has a proud, arrogant demeanour, and wore a stoic expression. He was tall, lean, and quite handsome. His dark brown hair was slightly wavy, and reached down to his shoulders. his dark brown eyes were cool and collected.

As Percy observed his room-mates, his room-mates were observing him. They each had a different opinion. Terry and Anthony thought that he seemed like a nice guy, while Michael was a bit more sceptical.

"Um, sorry for almost attacking you. We didn't get the notice that you'de be rooming with us, and didn't notice you last night, so you can imagine our surprise when we woke up and found an extra guy sleeping in our dorm," Anthony apologised.

Percy shook his head. "Nah, don't worry about it dude. It happens."

"Well, looks like you've all met!" a voice called from across the room.

The four boys spun around to face a woken up Robert, who was grinning madly.

"How about I let you guys talk while I GET TO THE SHOWERS FIRST!" he yelled, grabbing a towel and sprinting for the showers.

Percy's eyes widened when he realised what his friend had said, and he ran after him, grabbing a towel as he caught up. He hopped into a shower and let the warm water run down his head, clearing his sleepy thoughts and giving him energy. He quickly washed himself and turned off the water. He used his powers to dry himself and wrapped the towel around his body.

When he walked out of the bathroom, he saw that Robert had already finished, and was putting on his tie. Percy quickly pulled on his school trousers and buttoned up the white shirt, leaving the top buttons open so that he doesn't feel as if he were choking. He grabbed his tie and attempted to tie it around his neck, fiddling with it as it refused to look neat.

"Come on Percy! We need to go to breakfast now!" Robert's voice called from the Common Room.

Percy scowled and left his tie loosely tied. He stuffed his feet into a pair of converse and grabbed his robe, running out of the dorm and following his friends down the stairs. He decided to fix his uniform later. After all - food comes first!

The boys chatted away as they walked to the Great Hall. The other three were telling Percy about his lessons, while Michael told him about their awesome Quiddich team. Percy found out that their schedule had been changed, and that they now had Potions first with Gryffindor. Percy somehow knew that this was because of him. But the other boys didn't seem to mind. They were pretty good at potions, and Robert wasn't even in their year.

When they got to the Great Hall, the only thought that remained in his head was food. The was filled with delicious aromas of different foods. He spotted Luna and sat down next to her; smiling in greeting. His attention was immediately caught by the large stack of pancakes in front of him. He loaded his plate and began stuffing his face with golden deliciousness. Sure, they weren't blue, but they were pancakes.

He happily talked to Luna and his other friends, completely oblivious to the many stares he was getting from a lot of girls. He felt content with his life so far at the school. It gave him hope that he could finally be happy.

Breakfast was over quickly, and pretty soon, he found himself saying goodbye to Luna as she went off to her class. He turned to face his friends and saw them looking at him with different expressions. Terry had a mischievous smile on his face, while Anthony was suppressing a grin.

"What?" Percy asked them, a puzzled look on his face.

Terry shook his head. "Unbelievable. How could someone be so oblivious!" he exclaimed.

Percy was even more confused.

"Never mind him," Anthony told him, "You need to fix up your uniform. Professor Snape will not be impressed if you go to his class looking like that. The boys bathrooms are just over there. Go fix yourself up and meet us down in the dungeons. That's where the Potions classes are held."

Percy nodded and jogged towards the bathroom, waving at his friends as they walked off. He looked at himself in the mirror and proceeded to properly button his shirt and tuck it in. He then fixed up his tie and put on his robe. He ran his hand through his hair a few times and patted it down in hopes of making it look half decent. he quickly gave up on that and began searching for the dungeons.

After what seemed like forever, he managed to arrive at his potions classroom, thanks to the help of a friendly ghost named Sir Nicholas. The doors to the class were shut, so Percy presumed that class had already started.

'_Great! First day and you've already managed to be late to your first class! Well done!_' he thought to himself sarcastically.

He took a deep breath and pushed open the doors, wincing slightly when they slammed against the walls. He noticed everyone staring at him, but chose to ignore them, and instead pay attention to the professor.

Professor Snape was a thin man of fairly average height. He had pale skin, and greasy black hair that reached his shoulders. He had a large, hooked nose, and his dark eyes seemed to pierce through your soul. Percy would have thought that he was a son of Hades if he hadn't known better. The man certainly looked the part, what with his flowing black robes. And he didn't look very happy, as his thin lips were pulled into a scowl.

"Terribly sorry sir. I got lost on my way. It won't happen again," Percy quickly apologised.

He held his breath as Snape narrowed his eyes at him, sighing in relief when Snape gave him a sharp nod.

"How nice of you to join us. Take a seat. And don't be late again," Snape snapped.

Percy nodded and looked around the room for a seat. The only spare one was next to a girl who was busily writing something on a piece of parchment. Percy inwardly shrugged and sat next to the girl. The girl's head snapped up as she stared at him in shock. Percy was pretty shocked as well. The girl was one of the most beautiful people he had ever seen, and he had seen a lot of beautiful people.

She had fair skin with long, curly, brown hair that fell in waves down her back. She had a slender figure with curves in all the right places, and even in her robes, she looked magnificent. She wasn't that tall, about 5'5 or 5'6 - Percy couldn't really tell since she was sitting down. She had a slightly upturned nose, and lush, pink lips. And her eyes; they were a warm, inviting brown, that also showed intelligence, courage, and passion. They were so similar to Annabeth's, yet so different.

She looked slightly confused, and suspicious, as she glanced around the room. Percy decided that it would be polite to introduce himself.

"Hey I'm Percy. Percy Riddle," he offered his hand.

The girl looked at him for a second before taking his hand.

"Hermione Granger. It's a pleasure," she politely introduced herself.

Percy could have sworn that his heart stopped beating for a second. He couldn't help the smile that spread across his face, and just barely held back a blush. He suddenly remembered something he saw in a movie before, something that a lot of girls found charming apparently. He gently placed a kiss on her knuckles, repressing a shiver at how soft her skin felt.

"The pleasure is all mine Ms. Granger," Percy murmured softly.

Hermione flushed slightly and looked back at her textbook. But she seemed to have trouble focusing. Percy wondered if he had done something wrong, before deciding that girls were just too confusing to understand. He glanced at his textbook, unsure as to what he was supposed to do. Luckily, Hermione seemed to notice his uncertainty.

"Chapter twenty-nine. Read it all and then write a report on it," she muttered, not looking at him.

Percy muttered back a thanks and opened up his book onto the right page. Fortunately, his mother had made sure to get him books written in Ancient Greek. So know, he didn't have to go through the humiliation of not being able to read properly. He had just started reading about the wondrous uses of the 'Strengthening Solution', when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see a slightly uncomfortable Hermione.

"Um, sorry, but, would that textbook happen to be written in Ancient Greek?" she asked timidly.

Percy gave her a reassuring smile and laughed softly.

"Yes. It's written in Ancient Greek," he added, glad that his mom had prepared him for any questions he might be asked, "I studied the language before, and decided that I would get more practise if I read the language everyday. So I made sure to order all my textbooks in Ancient Greek."

Hermione nodded in acceptance and went back to reading her book. A few minutes later, Percy glanced up at her and saw that she was itching with curiosity.

"You can ask me your questions you know. I don't mind," he smiled at her.

She seemed a little shocked that he had noticed, but quickly shook away the surprise.

"Um, if you don't mind me asking, where is your snake?" she asked shyly.

"Oh. Her name's Cyrena. And I left her in my dorm. Figured I'd scare a lot of people if I brought her to my classes. And it also takes a lot of effort to drag her about all the time," Percy answered, grinning to encourage Hermione.

Hermione nodded in acceptance and quickly thought up another question. This time, she seemed more at ease.

"Can you speak with her?" she questioned curiously.

"If you're asking if I am a Parselmouth, then yes. I talk to her a lot actually. She's a good friend, and she's also pretty wise for a snake," Percy replied thoughtfully.

Hermione seemed truly interested now. She fired off questions one after the other, barely giving Percy time to answer them.

"What's it like? Talking to a snake?"

"It's odd actually. It's basically a voice in your head that isn't your own."

"What school did you go to in America?"

"Um, I was home-schooled."

"Who taught you?"

"My mom."

"Did you always know that you were a wizard?"

Percy didn't get the chance to answer that one - thank gods! - as a pale hand slammed down on the table. He looked up and saw the scowling face of Professor Snape.

"Um. Hello Sir. Nice lesson we're having?" Percy grinned sheepishly.

That wasn't the right thing to say, but it made Hermione smile and that made Percy happy. Snape however, seemed to have grown even angrier.

"Mr. Riddle. Ms. Granger. It is most certainly _not _a nice lesson when you two are simply chatting away. Thought I wouldn't notice, did you? Well, ten points from Gryffindor and ten points from Ravenclaw! And you will both see Professor Flitwick for detention after classes!" with that, Snape walked off to check on the other students, all of whom were hiding looks of disappointment.

Percy refrained from rolling his eyes, and instead glanced at Hermione, who was biting her lip in anxiousness. Percy suddenly felt terrible. Hermione seemed like the kind of person who always had perfect records, then here he comes along, and she has detention.

"Hey, um, I'm sorry for getting you stuck in detention with me," he apologised.

Hermione gave him a strange look and shook her head.

"No. I got myself into detention. You don't have to apologise," she argued.

Percy gave her a slight smirk.

"So is this your first time getting detention?" he asked her, already suspecting what the answer was going to be.

"Er, yes. Four whole years of perfect records, and now I have detention," she groaned, confirming Percy's suspicions.

"Well, if it helps, this is my first day here, and already I've gotten a detention. And the first lesson isn't even over yet!" Percy chuckled.

Hermione blinked and slowly let out a laugh.

"By Merlin! That is worse! But why do I get the feeling that you're not too surprised?" she asked, raising an elegant eyebrow.

Percy grinned, shocked, but delighted, that she had noticed.

"Oh, this isn't the worst thing I've ever done," he smirked. "I'll tell you all about it in detention."

Percy could tell that this was going to bother Hermione all day until she got the answer. But before she could question him about it, the bell signalling the end of class sounded through the castle. Percy quickly gathered his books and nodded at Hermione, who had gotten up and was joining her friends - a tall ginger guy, and a shorter black haired guy with round glasses - both of whom were looking at him suspiciously. Hermione grinned back and left the room.

Percy was knocked out of his gaze by a slap on the back, courtesy of a grinning Terry.

"Well done mate! It seems as if you've gotten pretty cosy with Granger over there," he winked suggestively.

Percy rolled his eyes and shoved his friend away.

"Please! You're just jealous that all the ladies are falling for my charm more than your's," he retorted.

"Terry has charm?" Michael gasped playfully in shock.

Anthony snickered as Percy outright laughed at Terry's indignant face.

"Hey! Lay off! You can insult me, but touching my charm? You've crossed the line there mate! Prepare to face my wrath!" Terry threatened in the most serious face he could muster, which only resulted in making the boys burst into laughter.

As they walked to their next class, Percy's thoughts went back to his new acquaintance. And he found himself thinking the impossible. He suddenly couldn't wait for detention!

* * *

**Another chapter!**

**I would like to start off this A/N by saying THANK YOU! To all those who have reviewed! We have finally reached a hundred reviews! I'm sooo happy and grateful! Thank you guys so much for taking the time to read this story, and then to actually review! Wow! I can't even! This is just so incredible! Is this what winning an Oscar feels like?! Cos' this is freaking amazing!**

**As a thank you, I have made this chapter a bit longer than my other ones, and will probably post the next chapter sooner than usual. Also, as a quick question, to those of you who read my PJO fic 'Enemies', in Chapter 4, I think, I mention an incident with Apollo and a shrub. I was wondering if you guys wanted me to make a one-shot about that event. It's your call.**

**Also, with further news, I have recently adopted 'Starlight: The legacy of Helios and Selene' by xlightningz. Please check out the original. I will not be posting this story until a good bit later, after I have most of my stories at least half-way done. I just wanted to give you guys a heads-up. And please do read the original by xlightningz. It is an amazing plot.**

**Um, finally, I guess I'd like to once again thank you all. I seriously didn't expect to get so many reviews so quickly. I just hope I'm reaching your expectations with this story. I promise you, I'll be getting to the more action-packed parts soon, so I'd appreciate it if you guys could bear with me. Um, please point out any mistakes I have made, and I will do my best to fix them. Please fav/follow/review. I love you all sooo much! Thanks sooo much again! Love you all! XOXO!**


	8. Chapter 8

Hermione didn't know what to think of the boy. He had seemed so charming, and kind in class. She couldn't possibly think of him as evil. And yet, there was this darkness in him. Hermione could sense it when she looked into his eyes. She knew without a doubt that he was capable of doing so much damage. But would he do it willingly? Hermione didn't think so.

Her thoughts went back to the conversation she had with him during Potions class. Sure, she had gotten detention _for the first time in her life_. But she couldn't help but be intrigued by him. He was such a mysterious person. When they started talking, she found herself unable to stop. She was captivated by his strange mannerisms. By the way he smirked when she asked him so many questions, but answered them anyway. She found herself wanting to know everything about the boy, but didn't know where these feelings came from. She couldn't understand why she was so _interested_.

She remembered the way her friends ambushed her right after they had left class, thinking that he had harmed her. Hermione scoffed at that. He wouldn't be stupid enough to attack her in a classroom full of children and the scariest teacher to ever walk the halls of Hogwarts. He was in Ravenclaw for God's sake! Hermione thought about all this as she went through her classes in a blur. Before she knew it, she was being dragged to the Great Hall for lunch.

Hermione was glad that it was lunch. She hoped that maybe some food would help her sort out her thoughts. However, things did not go as planned. The minute she took her seat, she was bombarded with questions.

"Did you talk to him?"

"How is he?"

"Is he evil?"

"Does he really smell like the sea?"

That last one was asked by Ginny. Hermione sent her a weird look, as did most of the others. Ginny held up her hands defensively.

"What! Luna told me!" she cried sheepishly.

Now that Hermione thought about it, he did seem to smell like a sandy beach next to the clear ocean.

"Okay! Hold on! How about Hermione just tells us what she found out?" Harry's voice cut in.

Hermione nodded gratefully and cleared her throat.

"Okay, so his name is Percy Riddle. He's really polite and charming. And yes, he does sort of smell like the sea. He seems quite studious and knows Ancient Greek. In fact, his books are all written in Ancient Greek. He is really friendly. His snake is feminine, and her name is Cyrena. He is a Parselmouth, and said that his snake is very wise. He was home-schooled by his mother. He's quite daring, and said that he had done things worse than talking in class before. And he doesn't _seem _evil. He's actually quite funny and intelligent," Hermione finished off, her eyes slightly glazed over as she remembered the boy.

Ginny giggled from beside her. "Oh Hermione! It seems like you have a crush!"

Hermione blushed a light pink and glared at her ginger friend.

"Shut up Ginny! I don't have a crush on him!"

"But I can't really blame you. He is the hottest guy here," Ginny continued, ignoring Hermione's protests.

Hermione huffed and looked away.

"So what do you guys think?" she asked her other friends, deliberately ignoring Ginny.

"I still think that he's a Death Eater," Ron grumbled.

"I agree with Ron. Tom Riddle was thought to be all charming too. No one suspected that he was up to no good. I say that Percy's probably the same!" Harry scowled.

Hermione frowned. Her friend wasn't usually so hateful towards anyone, so she couldn't understand why Harry seemed to simply loath Percy. They hadn't even met! But before she could say anything, her friends got caught up in a conversation about Quiddich, so she decided to just eat her pudding and ponder about Harry and Percy.

She knew that there was some explanation for why Harry was acting so hostile, but she didn't know what it was. Perhaps they had met before? She couldn't help but think that if Harry wasn't so hateful, then he and Percy would be great friends. Hermione sighed and shook her head. There was no use in just thinking about these kind of things. Instead, she decided to worry about what was going to happen after lessons.

She had detention.

* * *

The rest of her classes flew by, and Hermione soon found herself jogging towards Professor Flitwick's class. Her last lesson had been in the other end of the castle, so she had to hurry.

When she finally reached the class, she glanced at her watch and saw that she was two minutes late. She politely knocked on the door and opened it.

"I'm so sorry I'm late Professor!"

Professor Flitwick was shaking his head and smiling.

"That's quite all right my dear! I'm sure you had a very good reason for not being here on time, and you weren't even all that late! No need to fear!" he chuckled.

Hermione smiled gratefully. Professor Flitwick was one of her favourite teachers. He was such a lively man, despite his small size. And he was a very good teacher, while not being at all strict. Plus, he often praised Hermione for her work in his class.

It was then that Hermione finally noticed the other person in the class. Percy Riddle was lounging on for of the chairs near the back, flipping a pen into the air and catching it. He noticed her staring at him, and winked, giving her a mischievous smirk. Hermione quickly looked away and took a seat at the front.

"Well, I'm going to just nip out and grab something. You two can stay here. I'll be right back!" Professor Flitwick announced and briskly walked out the door.

Not a second later, Hermione heard another person sit next to her.

"Hello again Ms. Granger. You're late," the person greeted.

Hermione frowned and looked at him.

"How did you get here so early? You don't seem like a very punctual person," she asked.

Percy grinned impishly. "I had Charms as my last lesson."

Hermione nodded in acceptance and took out a book. It was one of her personnel favourites, "_Magic Women and Their Fame_". It was a book about all the famous women in wizard history. She was currently on chapter five; the chapter about Rowena Ravenclaw.

"What are you reading?" Percy asked after a few seconds.

"A book," Hermione replied shortly.

She could hear him chuckling softly before there were a few more moments of silence.

"You know, I thought you were going to interrogate me again. You probably won't get a chance later on," Percy idly commented.

Hermione put her book down and turned around to face him.

"What is wrong with you!" she burst.

She seemed to have caught him by surprise as he had a shocked look on his face.

"What do you mean?" he asked in confusion.

"I mean, why do you act like you want to be interrogated, and then just give weird answers!" Hermione scowled.

Percy's eyes widened before he began to laugh. Hermione huffed and stood, intending to sit somewhere else.

"Wait! I'm sorry! Hermione wait!" Percy gasped as he grabbed her wrist.

Hermione froze. Her mouth dropping open in shock as her wrist was clutched in a warm hand. Her stomach was doing that funny caving-in thing it always did whenever Ron touched her. She could feel a thousand shocks running through her veins. Percy seemed to realise that something was wrong, and got up, hesitantly letting go of her wrist and and walking around to face her instead.

"I-I really am sorry Hermione. I wasn't laughing at you. Honestly," he apologised with an uncertain smile.

Hermione shook herself out of her frozen state and quickly ducked past him. But before Percy could follow her, the door slammed open, causing him to dive into the nearest seat.

"Ah! Sorry about that! Hope I didn't scare you!" Professor Flitwick chuckled as he walked in; his head was barely visible behind the large stack of about six books.

Percy gave him a friendly smile and shook his head. He snuck a glance at his fellow pupil and saw that she was once again occupied with that book of hers. Meanwhile Hermione was busy hiding herself from the only boy in the class. Professor Flitwick was a man, so he didn't count.

Hermione was in a state of confusion. She couldn't understand what had just happened, but she intended to avoid Percy until she did. Little did she know, that when she did, she would just want to avoid him even more.

* * *

The rest of detention was pretty uneventful. Hermione found herself extremely happy when it was over. She had managed to run off before Percy could catch her. She was lucky that he didn't know the castle all that well yet. She hurried down the halls towards the Gryffindor Tower, where she knew her friends would be waiting.

And sure enough, the moment she arrived at the Gryffindor common room, she was ambushed by a group of babbling teenagers.

"Wait! Stop! Guys! Let me sit down for a moment!" Hermione yelled over the noise.

Her friends grudgingly shut up and they all trekked over to the armchairs and couches.

"Okay. So know that we've all sat down, how'd it go?" Ginny asked eagerly.

"It went fine. It was quite uninteresting actually. I spent the entire time reading," Hermione answered with a slight frown.

Ginny looked slightly disappointed.

"So wait, you didn't get anything out of him?" Harry scowled.

Hermione's frown deepened.

"Harry," she began, "I really don't understand why you hate him so much. It's not like you."

"Why I hate him so much!" Harry spluttered indignantly. "Do you hear yourself! He's Voldemort's grandson! Hermione! He's the grandson of the man who killed so many people!"

"But you don't know if he's like his grandfather or not!" Hermione argued. She didn't know why she was defending Percy, but it was too late to back out now.

"Hermione. He's a Riddle. They're all the same. Bloody evil pricks the lot of them! Worse than the Blacks or the Malfoys! He's evil! There's no doubt about it!" Harry growled.

"Harry! You're judging people based on their family heritages! You didn't like it when Sirius had the same done to him! So what gives you the right to judge others based on their families! What is wrong with you Harry!" Hermione yelled.

"That _boy _is the grandson of the guy who killed my parents! My family wasn't allowed to live! So why should his! Voldemort doesn't deserve any love! Any happiness! He's been tormenting me, my friends, and their families every single day! Voldemort doesn't deserve to have his family alive and happy and _safe_!" Harry spat out, his eyes glowing with hatred.

That's when it clicked. Hermione suddenly realised why Harry hated Percy so much.

"You're jealous!" she stated in surprise.

"What!" Harry snapped.

"You're jealous that Voldemort got to have a family while you didn't. So your transferring all your hate on Voldemort to Percy! That's why you act like you hate him so much! You don't actually hate him at all! You just hate his grandfather! Oh Harry!" Hermione explained, her voice much softer now.

Harry looked at her in shock and slumped back down into an armchair.

"W-what?" he stuttered.

Ron reached out and patted him on the shoulder.

"It's all right mate," he muttered reassuringly.

Harry gulped uneasily and abruptly bolted up.

"I-I need to go think about this," he mumbled before running out of the room.

The others were still frozen in their armchairs.

"Perhaps we should go to bed now," Hermione suggested after a while.

She was tired, and so much had happened that day. The others nodded their heads absent-mindedly, still caught up in their thoughts. Hermione sighed and went up to her dorm. As she got in bed, the only thing running through her mind, was the fact that tomorrow was going to be interesting to say the least. She just hoped to enjoy her sleep while she could, because something big was coming.

She could feel it.

* * *

**YES. I AM A HORRIBLE PERSON. I'm SORRY!**

**I realise that it has been ages since I last updated, so I would like to sincerely apologise for that. But I do have a few valid excuses.**

**1) I have moved around a good bit in the past year, and moving from Ireland to England was the biggest move. And as you all probably know, the education system in England is a bit different to the education system in Ireland. So I have been working hard to catch up to my fellow classmates these past few weeks, and really didn't have the time.**

**2) Really big exams are coming up and I'm panicking because I need to do well, but I still have a load to catch up on. Like a year's worth of studies. So yes, I'm spending all my time on that.**

**3) I might have been procrastinating a little and obsessing over Youtubers like Dan and Phil, and Pewdiepie...**

**So anyway! I really am sorry! And I know that this really bad chapter doesn't make up for it, but I'm going to try and update more often.**

**Oh, and have I mentioned that my parents have banned me from , so I'm doing this in secret? Well you're welcome!**

**I gotta go now. I'm taking a huge risk here. My laptop is at stake! So if I've made any mistakes, then please tell me. I wrote this in a hurry. **

**Please fav/follow/review! And check out my other stories! They're all pretty crap, but what have you got to to loose!**

**LOVE YOU ALL! XOXO**

**(please don't kill me...It's TheLightInTheEnd's fault!)**


	9. Chapter 9

It took Percy a few days to remember that he had other friends. Friends that were probably worried out of their minds.

It had been Sunday afternoon, and he was lying down on the grass beside the lake, just enjoying the rare sunshine. It had been a hectic week, and he was glad that he could relax. His friends had Quiddich practise, and he couldn't be bothered to go watch. He had gotten along pretty well with all his teachers - except Snape of course! But he was a little disappointed that he hadn't been able to go to the Defence Against Dark Arts class. The class had been cancelled for the entire week, and he had a suspicious feeling that it was because of him.

Robert and Terry had told him that he should be glad to have not met the DADA teacher yet. Apparently she was a toad in a pink costume.

Nevertheless, he couldn't help but feel disappointed. But, the rest of his classes went well, and his favourite so far was probably either Transfiguration, or Charms, although Transfiguration was much harder. Professor McGonagall was extremely strict and expected high results from everyone. Yet, he somehow managed to get through the class. He had been afraid that he would completely fail (since he had never done magic at all), but he had been able to call up the magic and complete the spells pretty quickly.

And now, he could just chill out, and try not to worry about the heap load of homework he had to complete. As he sat there, gently running his hand through the cool water, he couldn't help but get a feeling of deja vu. He had done this before. At a different lake, in a different country. He idly wondered how all his friends were doing. Grover, Travis, Katie, Clarisse.

And that's when he realised that he had literally just run off to England without saying a single word to them. They probably didn't know that he was safe. What if they started some sort of man-hunt across the country looking for him? They wouldn't go that far, would they? Percy decided that they probably would. They were demigods after all.

Leaping up to his feet, he dusted off his khakis, and glanced around.

Good. He was alone.

Taking a deep breath, he willed some water to rise up from the lake, and catch the light; creating a rainbow. After he had wished for all the minor Gods to be respected, many of the minor Gods had thanked him with gifts. Iris had told him that he would never have to pay for an Iris Message ever again. That gift came in handy in moments such as these, when he didn't have any drachmas with him.

"Iris, show me Chiron at Camp Half-Blood," he requested in a polite voice.

The misty rainbow shimmered and showed a middle-aged white centaur. The centaur appeared to be standing in a front of a ping-pong table that was surrounded by teenagers.

"Chiron!" Percy called, causing the centaur to whip his head around and look at the IM in shock.

"Percy! My boy!" Chiron finally yelled joyfully.

"Hey," Percy waved.

The other people in the room stared at him in disbelief. Finally, a young satyr approached.

"P-Percy?" he tentatively asked, biting his lip nervously.

Percy smiled gently.

"Hey G-man. It's good to see you again."

Grover grinned, his goatee wobbling as his wide, brown eyes filled with tears.

"Oh Gods Percy! Where are you! You just disappeared! Are you okay? Are you you hurt? How-"

Percy interrupted his friend with a slight laugh.

"Whoa! Hold on there buddy! Let's slow down!" he smirked.

"The goat-boy's right. Where have you been Jackson?" Clarisse put in, the scowl on her face clearly showing her anger.

This opened up the floodgates and the room exploded.

"Percy!"

"How are you!"

"Where've you been mate!"

"Bro! Who's the hot chick behind you!" Travis exclaimed.

Percy spun around, only to come face-to-face with Luna. The silver-eyed girl was staring at the Iris Message in wonder. Her hands were clenched around the latest edition of _The Quibbler_. She looked at Percy questioningly, curiosity evident in her eyes. Percy inwardly sighed, knowing that he'd have to come up with an explanation quickly.

"I'll call you guys back later. I'll explain everything then, okay?"

Not waiting for an answer, Percy swiped his hand through the Iris Message, and flopped down onto the ground. He pat the spot next to him, inviting the girl to come join him. After a moments hesitation, Luna sat down.

"So, what was that?" she asked after a few seconds.

Percy racked his brains for a plausible answer.

"That was a method of messaging used by my family," he finally answered.

Luna blinked in shock.

"What?" she tilted her head in puzzlement.

"Yeah, uh, it was created by one of my ancestors," Percy carried on, building up on his lie. "It has been used by my family for years."

This was technically true. For one half of his family at least.

"But you can't tell anyone! This has to be a secret between us," Percy pleaded.

Luna's expression morphed into a thoughtful one until suddenly, her eyes began to sparkle with mischief. Percy instantly put up his guard, narrowing his eyes in suspicion at his friend.

"Okay, but what will I get out of it?" Luna asked.

Percy frowned slightly in confusion.

"What do you want?" he asked cautiously.

"Oh, nothing much...Okay! I want to show you something!" Luna leaped up and held out her hand.

Percy grabbed her hand and pulled himself up, his friend's newly found enthusiasm bemusing him. Luna wasted no time in dragging him to some mysterious place in the Forbidden Forest.

"Uh Luna? Aren't we meant to, like, not go into the big, scary forest?" Percy chuckled nervously.

Luna just looked at him weirdly.

"Um, I don't think anything or anyone would dare to attack the grandson of The Dark Lord," she pointed out quite obviously.

Percy huffed and rolled his eyes, a small blush covering his cheeks.

The duo walked for a little while longer, climbing over certain objects every now and then, until they finally came to a stop behind a couple of bushes.

"Luna, what i-"

Percy was interrupted by Luna's shushing.

"We have to be quiet to that we don't scare them off!" she whispered, before ducking through the leaves.

Percy gave a slight shrug before quickly following her. As he walked out of the thick vegetation, Percy noticed that they seemed to be in a small clearing. But the oddest thing, was what was in the clearing. A herd of pure black horses; all looking magnificent as they peacefully grazed in the sun. Percy let out a soft gasp as he carefully approached the closest one.

The horse stilled as it felt a presence coming close to it. It stood still as Percy gently skimmed a hand over its bony, leathery skin; its bat-like wings; its reptile face.

"_My Lord. It is truly an honour," _the horse whispered in Percy's head.

"They're called Thestrals. Only those who have seen death can see them," Luna explained softly from next to him.

Percy gave her a questioning look.

"My mother," Luna replied shortly.

Percy nodded in understanding and decided not to push it further.

"So what were you going to do if I couldn't see them?" he asked instead.

"I didn't really think of that. But I was fairly confident that you would be able to see them. You have this aura about you that says that you've experienced death before. And you've got this haunted look in your eyes," Luna replied with a shy smile.

Percy smiled softly and stared into the silver eyes of his friend. He gently gabbed her soft, pale hand and carefully rubbed her knuckles.

"Thank you Luna. Thank you for showing me this," he quickly pulled her into a hug to show his gratitude.

He completely missed the huge blush that was forming on her face. Luna hesitantly wrapped her arms around him and hugged him back. She bit her lip nervously, as if she were thinking deeply. Finally, making up her mind, she pulled back.

"Meet me here tomorrow. Same time," she ordered hurriedly.

Percy nodded, confusion clear on his face. But before he could say anything, Luna had already run off. Sighing and shaking his head, Percy began walking back towards the castle, sparing a last glance at the majestic beasts behind him.

* * *

"I can't believe it!"

Percy raised an eyebrow as he walked into the dorm. His friends were all lounged on the beds and floor, apart from Michael, who was angrily pacing across the room. Terry, who had been tossing his wand up and catching it, spotted Percy and sent him an exasperated grin. Grinning back, Percy walked over and dropped down on his friend's bed.

"He's been at it for a while now. But he won't say what it's all about. We've given up on trying to get him to shut up," Terry leaned over and whispered.

Percy frowned and glanced at his other friends. Robert was lying face down on his bed, lightly snoring away, while Anthony was watching Michael in concern. Giving a small sigh, Percy marched over and grabbed Michael by the shoulders.

"Michael! Calm down dude and tell us what this is all about!" he exclaimed.

"My girlfriend! That's what it's about!" Michael shouted.

Percy looked at him in confusion. "You have a girlfriend?"

"Yeah," Anthony spoke up, "Ginny Weasley, the youngest Weasley sibling. She plays for the Griffindor Quiddich team. They've been dating for a while."

"Yeah but with the way she's been acting, it might not last much longer!" Michael growled in frustration.

Percy nodded thoughtfully. "Okay, so what exactly happened?"

Michael shot him a look but replied.

"We were just talking about Quiddich, and other stuff, when I saw her looking at one of her friends. I thin it was Harry Potter, but I can't be sure. So anyway, she wasn't even listening to me, so I asked her about it. She got mad, and denied it, but I saw her! So we began arguing - again. It seems like all we do lately is argue! She stormed off, and so here I am. God I wish she didn't argue with me so much!" he ranted.

Percy blinked in shock at the sudden rant.

"Um, wow, okay then. Uh, but, maybe it isn't just her fault?" he hesitantly suggested.

Michael scowled and marched up to Percy, wand at the ready in an offence position.

"What do you mean! How could it be my fault!" he shouted.

Percy held up his hands in a surrender position, and slowly backed away.

"Whoa! Okay man! Whatever! I'm just saying. Maybe you guys need to talk it out or something. It seems like you really like her, and even though we haven't been friends long, I still don't want to see you get hurt!" he explained softly.

"And I don't really want to deal with a depressed you!" he added a bit more playfully.

Michael huffed and marched back to his bed, plopping down onto it with a pout. Percy sighed and shook his head, going back to sit next to a very amused Terry, who had been eagerly watching their conversation. The second he sat down, Cyrena (whom Percy hadn't noticed was there till then) wrapped herself around her master's shoulders.

"_Do not worry master. The boy will realise that you are correct, and will get over it soon. You seemed quite happy when you arrived. Did something happen?_" the snake questioned, subtly changing the subject.

Appreciating the effort, Percy gave her a small smile.

"Yes actually, something did happen. I was out with Luna, and she had shown me these magnificent creatures. Thestrals, I believe they were called. And before that, I had talked to some of my friends from America," he answered.

The snake nodded and rested her head on Percy's shoulder, closing her eyes and letting out a small hiss. Percy gently ran a hand down her smooth skin, and glanced at his friend, who had been staring at him in awe.

"Were you just speaking in Parseltongue?" Terry asked with wide eyes.

Percy slowly nodded, shrugging slightly when he remembered that not everyone could converse with snakes. "Yeah, how else am I going to speak with my snake?"

Terry just nodded sheepishly, a small blush rising as he gave an embarrassed grin.

"So are you ready for your first Defence Against the Dark Arts class tomorrow?" he asked, hoping to change the subject once again.

Percy grinned as he realised that he was going to have his first DADA class tomorrow. He was told that it was supposedly the best class ever, but that the horrible new teacher just ruined it. Still, he couldn't wait.

"Oh hell yeah! I can't wait! By the way, what's up with Robert? He's been asleep for quite a while!" he frowned slightly.

"Oh Robert has a load of exams I think. Plus Professor Snape is making him work his but off! And it's pretty late. I think I'm gonna get some sleep too. See ya in the morning Perce!" Terry shrugged and hopped into his covers with a happy grin.

Percy grinned back and changed into a comfortable pair of tracksuit bottoms, before collapsing into bed. It didn't take him long to start snoring away too.

* * *

Percy was seriously annoyed. Here he was, in what should have been his favourite class, reading a book. The others had been right. The new teacher, Professor Umbridge, was a right toad in a pink costume! Percy remembered his first impression of her.

She had waddled into the classroom and propped herself behind the teacher's desk. Her beady eyes passed over the faces of the children, resting greedily on Percy for a few seconds before moving on. Her bright pink dress was somehow managed to look sinister in the dull lighting, and her sickly sweet smile didn't make it much better.

"Now class, I see that we have a new student. Why don't you introduce yourself _Mr. Riddle_," she practically hissed his name in anticipation.

Something about really rubbed Percy in the wrong way, so you really couldn't blame him for being sarcastic. He would later claim that it was self-defence.

"Well I really don't see the need after you've already done it for me," he smirked drily, folding his arms as glanced at her in boredom.

Umbridge turned a bright shade of red, and narrowed her eyes.

"Mr. Riddle, I _insist _that you get up and introduce yourself," she snarled.

"No."

Umbridge froze, unhidden fury burning in her eyes.

"Mr. Riddle! You will _get up _and introduce yourself NOW!" she marched over and spat in his face.

Percy scowled and slowly stood up, his hands clenched around his wand.

"No. I do not take orders from toads, so I suggest that you leave me alone, _Professor Umbridge_!" Percy glared at his teacher, his green eyes glowing with power.

"DETENTION!" Umbridge practically screamed. "GET OUT OF MY CLASSROOM!"

Percy spun around and marched over to his desk. He picked up his book and calmly walked over to the door, pausing to toss his book behind him and flashing a satisfied smirk towards the almost purple Umbridge, before confidently marching out the door. He knew that he shouldn't have done that, and he would most definitely suffer for it, but he couldn't just sit there and take it. That woman was evil.

Shaking his head with a sigh, Percy remembered that he was supposed to meet Luna, so he set off towards the forest. It was a good thing that DADA was his last class for the day. Otherwise, he would have been driven mad with boredom. He could always do his homework of course, but where was the fun in that? He would rather hang out with demon horses any day!

* * *

Percy waited for roughly half an hour for Luna. He cursed himself for not realising that he was much too early. So for the entire thirty minutes, Percy had no one but the horses to talk to. He would have brought Cyrena, but the effort of going back up to his dorm was too much.

Right now, Percy was discussing the use of saddles with one of the Thestrals, Finnius, when he heard the rustling of leaves. He turned around to see Luna entering the clearing. He chuckled when he noticed a stray leaf stuck in her golden locks, and gently brushed it off. Luna blushed a light pink and mumbled a hello.

"Hey Luna. So what did you want me here for?" Percy asked, getting straight to the point.

Luna's eyebrows furrowed before she brightened in realisation.

"Oh yes! I almost forgot! Follow me!" she gestured for him to follow her as she walked back towards the castle.

Stifling a groan of confusion at the girl, Percy quickly followed his friend, yelling a hurried goodbye to the horses. Percy jogged to catch up to his eager friend and tried to ask her where they were going. The only response he got was a "you'll see", and a mysterious grin. As they walked, Percy couldn't help but notice how Luna seemed to bite her lip nervously, as if she was worried that she might get into trouble for something. Percy frowned and hoped it didn't have anything to do with him, but knowing his luck, it generally did.

The two Ravenclaws walked in silence, each consumed by their own thoughts. They finally stopped in an empty corridor on the seventh floor. Across from them, Percy noticed a tapestry of a man who was probably called 'Barnabas the Barmy', seeing as that is what the tapestry was named. As they neared the end or the corridor, Luna suddenly spun around, and walked back to the start of the corridor, before spinning around and doing the same thing again.

On the third go, a door suddenly materialised on the part of the wall that Luna had walked past thrice. Percy's eyes widened as he saw the door just magically appear. He went up to it cautiously and touched it, feeling mildly surprised when he saw that it was real. He glanced towards Luna, who had a slight grin on her face and pushed it open.

Inside, Percy saw a large room filled with students. Students from every house except Slytherin. The students were in organised groups, and each group had some kind of props near them. If Percy didn't know any better, he would have said that they were training. And they were all chatting amongst themselves, causing the room to sound like a mumble of voices. But as soon as Percy entered the room, everyone's eyes fell on him, and the room descended into silence.

After what seemed like forever, a voice finally spoke up.

"Hey Percy. Welcome to the DA!"

* * *

**HEY! Okay so I am terribly sorry for disappearing like that! But I have been super stressed with exams and a lot of family stuff, so I really couldn't get myself to write. But now the exams are over, and I have a week off, so I hope to get a good bit of this story done. I don't make any promises though! **

**I know that this chapter probably isn't as good as some of the others, but it's only meant to be like a filler chapter. The good stuff will begin in the next chapter. So I apologise if this chapter is a little boring. If you guys spot any mistakes, then please do tell me. I tried to put in a bit of Perluna? here, but it could have failed on me. **

**I hope I let you guys see a bit more of Percy's character in this. See, I have found out that I like to let people read between the lines to find stuff rather than just making it obvious, so I advise you guys to pay close attention.**

**Thanks so much for sticking with me through this! And if you haven't already, then please Fav/Follow/Review! It will make me super happy and motivate me to write more and update quicker!**

**If you have any questions, then please ask away, because I think I'll do another Q&amp;A in the AN in the next chapter. Thanks so much for reading this! Love you all! XOXO**


	10. Chapter 10

Percy's eyes snapped towards his eagerly waving friend. He gave a short nod towards towards Terry before turning back to face the others.

"Yes. Welcome to the DA. Luna, could I talk to you for a moment?" the apparant leader of the group finally spoke up, an odd glint in his eyes.

Luna looked a little worried as she nodded, so Percy gave her hand a gentle squeeze before letting her go. The boy led Luna away from the others and as they conversed, Percy began to observe the boy. He was a little shorter than Percy himself, but looked about the same age. He had messy, black hair, but more of a dusty black rather than Percy's own darker raven locks. The boy also had emerald green eyes that glinted behind a pair of round glasses. And on his forehead, towards the left, was a lightning-shaped scar.

With a start, Percy realised that this was the infamous Harry Potter. Percy looked at the boy with more interest. He wasn't very well built physically, but must have had great strength in magic if he was looked up to as a teacher by all these students. He seemed to be arguing a little with Luna, until a brown-haired girl - Hermione, as Percy later recognised - walked up to them and spoke a few words. After another few moments, the three students walked back to Percy.

"Hello Percy. It's nice to see you here," Hermione smiled at him warmly.

Percy smiled back before turning towards Harry. "Hello. I don't believe we've met. My name is Percy Riddle, as you must already know," he held out his hand.

"Harry Potter. I'm sure you've heard of me," Harry shook his hand stiffly. "So, Riddle, you must know quite a lot of offence spells, what with being a Riddle and all."

Percy glanced at him quizzically, and decided that revealing that he didn't know all that much about magic would be a bad idea.

"Yes, undoubtedly. But I fail to see why you would ask that right now," Percy questioned, but he had a strong suspicion on why already.

"Well, I thought you would have caught on by now, being a Ravenclaw. This is an army. Dumbledore's Army. We are training right now. Preparing for the war _against your grandfather_," Harry answered harshly.

Percy, however, remained calm and collected.

"Yes, well, I suspected as much. However, while I do know quite a few spells for this sort of thing, I would much rather like to just observe for now," he said, walking over to it and leaning against it with his arms crossed over his chest.

Harry was shocked for a moment before he sent a glare in Percy's direction and abruptly walked back over to the others, seeming to have decided to just ignore Percy. Percy was fine with that. He inconspicuously slipped out his wand and spoke the words of a spell he had learned earlier in a class. "_Accio Cyrena!_"

Percy had no way of knowing whether or not the spell had worked, but he dearly hoped that it did. He really wished that those private lessons with the Professors would start soon. He had recently spoken to Dumbledore, who had informed him that there were some slight problems, and that the lessons should start next week. As Percy thought about this, he could hear a faint _zip! _and a hole suddenly appeared where the door had disappeared. A bluish-green snake whizzed through the hole and landed on Percy's lap.

The snake hissed and slithered up onto her master's shoulders. The others in the room had immediately recoiled at the sight of the snake, and pointed their wands at it, while Percy's friends just rolled their eyes and grinned. Harry glared at the snake before stiffly turning back to his class.

"Okay guys. Let's all focus now. You've been doing a great job with the disarming spells, but now I want to teach you something else. The Patronus Charm is a sort of positive force, and works like a shield for the wizard or witch that casts it. It is a very, very advanced charm, and even a lot of adults struggle with it, so don't get too disappointed if you don't get it on the first go," he began explaining.

"To do this spell, you need to focus on a really happy memory, the happier the better. You then need to really concentrate and begin moving your want in circles, while saying _Expecto Patronum_. Then, your Patronus should emerge from your wand in a bright silver light, like this."

Harry then demonstrated the charm, causing a beautiful, silver stag to materialise in front of him, before disappearing into a wisp of silver smoke. Everyone looked on at the creature in awe, and Percy was also staring at where the creature had been in admiration.

_"Oh yes Master. The Patronus charm is magnificent is it not. I am truly curious as to what your Patronus would be. You should learn this charm soon Master. Perhaps -wait! I sense an intruder! The boy, Master! The boy is also a Parselmouth!" _Cyrena hissed, glaring at Harry, who had been looking at the two.

Percy glanced at Harry in surprise. From what he had learnt, the ability to speak to snakes was inherited. How was Harry a Parselmouth?

Harry, meanwhile, was internally slapping himself for getting caught. He had been caught by surprise when the snake began to speak, and had involuntarily looked at it. but he was even more surprised at the fact that Percy couldn't cast the Patronus Charm. He had expected Percy to have an advanced knowledge of spells, but wondered if Percy was only well trained in offensive spell casting. It wouldn't really surprise him.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and began walking around the room, inspecting how everyone cast the spell, and making a few corrections here and there. As of yet, no one had managed to cast even an incorporeal Patronus. Harry's thoughts began to drift to his Occlumency lessons with Snape. So far, he hadn't been very successful, but hated the feeling of having that much hated git going through his memories.

Both Percy and Harry were brought out of their musings by a cry of joy that, surprisingly, came from Hermione, who had managed to conjure a magnificent, silver otter. The room erupted into an applause, and the students returned to their tasks with a renewed determination. And quite soon, Luna had managed to cast a beautiful, little hare.

Percy's eyes roamed around the room as he took in how each individual had their own unique way of spell casting. The dark boy with black dreadlocks, for example, held his wand in a peculiar way, while the tall, blonde Gryffindor seemed to crouch a little when he cast his spell. but Percy was over all impressed by the way they were all working. It reminded him of the days when he would teach some campers sword fighting in preparations for the war.

Percy dearly wished that the wizards didn't have to go through the pain of war, but there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn't help much, seeing as he wasn't very knowledgeable when it came to magic. However, he had noticed that many of the students weren't very well built, and wondered if they ever focused on their physical strength and stamina, but he seriously doubted it. He could feel an idea forming in his head, and hoped to be able to implement it soon.

The next couple of hours were spent this way, and Harry taught the others one more charm, the Shield Charm. Percy made sure to take careful note of the incantations and hand movements, so that he could practise these spells for himself later. Just as everyone was getting ready to leave, Harry suddenly addressed Percy.

"Percy. Surely _you _must be good at the Patronus Charm. And since the meeting is over, why don't you show us if you can do it. I mean, I'm sure everyone has been wondering exactly how powerful the grandson of Voldemort is," Harry smirked, a challenge clear in his words.

_"He is trying to goad you into this Master!" _Cyrena warned Percy.

Percy knew this, but was tired of Harry's hostile attitude, and seeing the eager looks on everyone else's faces, he knew that he was going to have to do it, or look like a complete fool. And then his secret would be revealed.

Gritting his teeth, Percy slipped his wand out from his sleeve and pointed it at an empty corner of the room. He closed his eyes and concentrated on one of his happiest memories. He remembered his father's look of fierce pride and joy one the war was over; his mother's face shining with happiness, and Paul's utter awe and excitement. He could feel himself filling up with warmth and snapped open his eyes.

Waving his wand in a circular motion, he spoke the words '_Expecto Patronum!_' with as much power as he could muster, and watched in amazement as a burst of silver erupted from his wand, forming the most sleek, elegant horse he had ever seen. The horse cantered around the room, its long mane swishing as its ice-blue eyes glowed with energy, before it suddenly shifted into the form of a giant eagle, gliding over the heads of the students, until it once again shifted into the form of a goat, and finally turned back into a horse and disappeared into a wisp of smoke.

The room was filled with silence, everyone still gazing with shock at where the utterly beautiful creature had disappeared. Suddenly, Terry began to clap, and the room was filled with claps and cheers, everyone absolutely awed at the stunning display put on by the resident Riddle.

Harry was still gaping at Percy, wondering how he had managed to conjure such a powerful Patronus on his very first go. He considered that the snake could have been deliberately lying, but quickly dismissed that idea, as he remembered that the snake wasn't even aware that he could understand it until later. He decided to ask Hermione on what she thought about this later on, and reluctantly joined in on clapping for the powerful wizard before him.

Percy was just as surprised as Harry, if not more. He hadn't expected to be able to successfully do the spell, but he had hoped. And now, it seemed as though everyone thought that he was a very powerful wizard. If his guesses were correct, Percy figured that they would want to see him perform a few more spells. He really needed to get started with those private lessons.

"Well done Master. You are a truly powerful wizard. Although, I would hope that next time we come here, you cast a privacy charm on our conversation. I do not like having my words be heard by one who is not meant to hear them!" Cyrena congratulated, and Percy heard the hidden message. He needed to learn how to cast a privacy charm soon.

Percy nodded to himself, and saw Hermione approaching him with a parchment in her hand.

"Well done Percy. That was brilliant! I wonder what kind of creature your Patronus is, seeing as it was able to transform into three different animals. Oh! But I was actually here to formally invite you to join the DA. If you agree to join and never let a word slip to anyone else about this organisation, then please sign your name here," Hermione smiled warmly while indicating to the parchment inn her hands.

The parchment was already covered with about twenty five names, and a silver mark was next to each name. Percy thought about what joining the army would mean for him, and if he could actually help anyone.

"Do it Master. It will be a good opportunity to see how good these children are, and to decide whether or not they are worthy enough to receive your help," Cyrena encouraged.

Percy nodded thoughtfully before quickly scribbling down his name onto the paper. Immediately, a silver glow illuminated his name, and a mark appeared next to it. Suddenly, a silver coin appeared in his hand. It was completely plain galleon - nothing special - but Percy could feel that there was some sort of spell on it.

"The coin will alert you when a meeting is going to take place, and tell you where. It is plain so that it does not attract unwanted attention," Hermione explained.

"And I'm guessing that you created this?" Percy asked. Hermione's blush was answer enough. "Well this is brilliant! You must be quite advanced in magic!"

Hermione blushed even more and stuttered out a thanks. The room was quickly emptying by now, and although many still cast wary looks at Cyrena, a lot of students clapped Percy on the back before leaving. Luna skipped towards Percy with a huge grin on her face. Percy happily grinned back as Luna gave him a quick hug. They began walking out the room, and Percy shared a respectful nod with Harry before leaving.

"Wow! That went better than I had thought! You were brilliant Percy! I'm so glad you joined the army!" Luna exclaimed happily.

"Yeah thanks so much for bringing me with you Luna! And you were amazing too! The speed at which you mastered the Patronus Charm was incredible!" Percy praised his friend.

Luna blushed and looked down. "I'm not all that good. I'm really not all that useful or anything in the army."

Percy stopped walking and spun Luna around so that she was facing him. He gently took her hands in his, and raised her chin so that his eyes met her silver ones which were shining with tears.

"Luna. Don't ever say that. You were amazing! And you are extremely good at magic! You are sweet, strong, and so incredibly beautiful! The army is lucky to have you. I'm lucky to have such a kind and caring friend. Luna, I've seen how your eyes light up with joy when you are happy. I've seen your stubborn look of determination. I've seen you when you are at your very self! And what I have seen can only be described as beautiful! You have been a friend to me since my first day, regardless of my family. You have been wholeheartedly accepting, true and honest. And I can never repay you for that. To be an amazing witch doesn't mean to be excellent at harming others. It means to be excellent at protecting others. And that is what you excel at. So don't ever say that again! I don't ever want to see tears in your eyes!" Percy's voice was but a whisper now, and his eyes never once left Luna's.

Luna was almost crying now. No one had ever said that to her before. After her mother's death, Luna had all but closed herself off. She had shut down for a while, going through the everyday actions like a machine. Her father had helped her come back to life a little, and she continued on with a careless attitude, hiding the pain beneath. She had suffered through the bullying, still holding onto that 'weird' part of herself that was her mother. She had finally made friends, but even then, no one had understood the endless torment she was going through.

Yet, here was Percy, arriving like a guardian angel, and bringing joy back into Luna's life. As he spoke those heartfelt words, she could see the pain buried beneath, buried just as her's was. She understood then, that she was not alone. She knew then that she could always rely on Percy to be that caring friend, and maybe even something more.

Her eyes glistened with un-shed tears as she slowly inched closer to the handsome boy in front of her. And closer yet, until there was but an inch between them. And just a little closer until -

* * *

**And there's another chapter over! So uh, on hindsight, it probably isn't the best idea to end the chapter on a cliffhanger after disappearing for about two months, but it isn't like you're going to kill me, right? Right guys?**

**Okay, so I'm really sorry for disappearing on you like that. I just have been drowning in depression, and am still honestly a wreck. It was my best friends death anniversary yesterday, and Monday will be the anniversary of the day she was buried. So I honestly don't know how I even managed to write this.**

**I'm sorry for how crappy this chapter turned out to be, and I know that it is kind of short, and certainly doesn't make up for my disappearance, but it's the best I can give you right now. To be honest, I wasn't even planning on writing today, but then I looked at all your encouraging reviews, and just had to post _something_! **

**But seriously. I'm pretty sure that I should have gotten at least one hate review by now, and yet I can only see positive reviews! I'm getting a little paranoid!**

**Thanks so much for sticking with me through this guys! Really! I appreciate it!**

**I'm getting better, I think. I'm talking about it to my friends and I think it's helping. So with the Summer holidays coming up real soon, I hope to get back to writing regularly!**

**Again, so sorry for disappearing! Please don't kill me! We're all friends here right?**

**PS. It seems like a lot of you want Perluna(?), so I'll consider it. I make no promises though!**

**THANKS AGAIN! LOVE YOU ALL! XOXO **


	11. Chapter 11

**At Camp Half-Blood...**

Annabeth Chase let out a deep sigh as she rose up from her warm bed. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and everything just seemed _wonderful_. The Athena Cabin was lit up from the light shining through the glassless windows, so that the grey walls seemed to glow with some sort of inner light. Annabeth let out a sleepy yawn as she looked around at the empty, well made beds. She had arrived extremely late the night before, and had overslept.

It felt so good to be back at Camp, and Annabeth was really looking forward to seeing all her friends again. She had been away on Olympus for the past week or so, designing various palaces and temples for the Gods. They were so pushy at times! She hadn't had a proper break in a long while, and was really looking forward to this week off.

Stretching her arms and back, Annabeth quickly changed into an orange Camp shirt and a pair of blue shorts. She tucked her dagger into the sheath on her belt and slipped on a pair of runners before running out the door, hoping that she hadn't completely missed breakfast. Luckily, most of the other campers were still at their tables, scoffing up some extra food. It was Saturday, so the invisible cooks had prepared the usual grand buffet for brunch.

Yes, Camp Half-Blood _did _have invisible cooks. Where do you think all the food came from? Sure the demigods liked to _think _that the magic platters conjured up some food out of thin air, but the older campers were well aware that someone actually made the food.

Annabeth walked over to her table and sat down next to her sister Evelyn. A silver platter immediately appeared in front of her, filled with her ideal breakfast of cereal, an omelette on bread, a small bunch of olives and a glass of orange juice. Annabeth knew the importance of a balanced diet, and tried to make sure that all her meals had the sufficient amount of nutrients needed. Unlike some people, who would rather just swallow down a stack of pancakes caked in syrup.

"Annabeth! So good to have you back. I know that you got in late last night, and we both know the importance of having enough sleep, so I just wanted to make sure that you had rested you brain properly. Our brains are the thing that keeps Camp running so well!" Evelyn greeted.

Annabeth smiled. Evelyn was extremely prideful - much more so than the usual child of Athena! But arguing against her never did anyone any good, so Annabeth simply nodded.

"Good morning Evelyn. Yes I did get back fairly late, but I think I've had enough sleep to keep me going for the day. Thanks for your concern though. It's wonderful to be back." Annabeth replied, taking another bite out of her cereal.

Evelyn finished her crepe and moved onto her yoghurt.

"So how was Olympus? It's so great that you get to be the official architect. You know, if technology hadn't been my forte, I would have definitely helped you! But sadly, I'm much better at computers and such other things!" Evelyn sighed, a tad bit overdramatically.

Annabeth let out a slight laugh and popped an olive into her mouth.

"Yes well, the thought is very much appreciated Evelyn. Oh, but don't get me started on Olympus! It's such a wreck! I mean, of course the place still looks beautiful despite all the mess, but it's more the construction process that's getting annoying! I have so many statues and buildings to design! And the Gods! Some of them have the most ridiculous requests! Take Ares for example. He wanted a giant arena _above _his palace. He wanted it to literally _float _above his palace! How am I meant to get that built? I'm so lucky to have mother there to help me out. She takes care of making sure that everything is reasonable. I got extremely stressed out, so mom let me take a break for the week. Now, I'm probably going to spend most of it designing all those statues, but I like that there isn't so much pressure."

Evelyn smiled sympathetically and finished her apple juice. The platter and rubbish magically vanished as she got up from her seat.

"Don't worry Annabeth. I know how that feels. But I'm sure you'll sort it all out fine. Just enjoy this week off, but make sure to get your work done. We mustn't become tardy! Have a nice day!" she gave Annabeth a small pat on the shoulder before walking off.

Annabeth rolled her eyes and set about finishing her food. Evelyn might have been a master at computers, but she had very little knowledge when it came to affection. Nevertheless, she meant well, and Annabeth appreciated that. Although it did get a little annoying when she pretended to know everything just because she was two years older than Annabeth.

Shaking her head with a fond smile, Annabeth set about finishing her meal. Just as she was sipping her juice, her brother Malcolm came running into the Pavilion, his appearance disheveled and a book of some sort in his arms.

The campers spared him a glance before going about their business. Not many of the other cabins payed the children of Athena much attention, only approaching them for strategies and answers to homework. Malcolm plopped down on the vacated seat next to Annabeth and smacked his book down on the table with a muffled _thump!  
_

"_Habits and Habitats of Minor Gods_. It's a book about all the Minor Gods and their jobs and abilities! I swear it's amazing! Dates back to when the Ancient Greeks lived you know! All facts, no nonsense. A group of demigods wrote this, lead by Cato Keltamos - a son of Athena. This book should technically be ours. It's our birthright!" he exclaimed excitedly.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "And how exactly did you come across this?"

Malcolm's cheeks erupted in red and he let out a small cough.

"Well, I was talking to Lou Ellen and we were walking, and uh, I was telling her about my interests, and she uh, mentioned this book and told me how it has been in the Hecate cabin for decades," he stammered.

Annabeth glanced at him sympathetically. It was obvious to her that her brother had a crush on the lively daughter of Hecate, but she knew that it would end in heartbreak. Anyone could see that Lou Ellen and Connor really fancied each other. Everyone except Malcolm it seemed. She wished there was something she could do to help him out, but she knew that it was something Malcolm had to face and conquer on his own. That's how he would get stronger.

"Well that's extremely fascinating Malcolm, and I look forward to hearing more about this book, but I've got to go find my boyfriend right now, so I'll see you later," Annabeth got up and waved goodbye, missing the puzzled look Malcolm gave her.

Jogging down the steps of the Pavilion, Annabeth hurried over to the cabins at a brisk pace. She headed straight for the large, grey structure that was the Poseidon cabin, and knocked gently on the door.

"Percy? Seaweed Brain get up!" Annabeth gave up on knocking, and gently pushed open the door. She stepped into the dark structure, taking a moment to once again marvel at the glorious interior. The fountain at the other end shone with a low, cool light that echoed off of the grey walls. Little bronze figures suspended in the air swayed in the non-existent breeze. Trinkets and other bits and bobs of all sort were placed around the large room in a way that could only be described as an organised mess.

There were only two beds in the room. After the war, Lord Poseidon had changed the furniture of the cabin a bit, so now there was a cyclops-sized king bed and a normal sized king bed directly opposite each other at the far end of the room on either side of the fountain. There was a mahogany wardrobe next to each bed and a working desk too. At the centre of the cabin was a set of deep blue couches - one three-seater with a loveseat on either side. Directly opposite the three-seater was a MystScreen (a device similar to the mortal television, but with access to Hephaestus TV only). Between the couches and Screen, at the exact centre, sat a blue-tinged glass coffee table lined with silver.

Annabeth walked towards the demigod-sized bed on the left. Lost in her awe, she had failed to notice earlier that said bed was, in fact, unoccupied. The pale green sheets were neatly spread, the pearl white pillows fluffed and carefully placed, and the coral blue duvet folded neatly at the end. Frowning, Annabeth moved towards the mahogany bedside locker. Apart from the glowing blue lava lamp, the top of it was bare. Now that was odd, because Annabeth knew for a fact that Percy kept a framed picture of him giving Annabeth a piggyback ride there.

Opening up the first drawer, she saw that it was filled with the usual stuff: notebooks, writing utensils and a few candy wrappers. Moving on, she attempted to open the next drawer, only to have it refuse. Pulling on the knob, Annabeth realised that the drawer was locked.

'_Why would Percy lock this drawer? What does he have to hide?_' Annabeth wondered.

Sighing in frustration, she crossed over to the wardrobe and threw it open. The difference was very noticeable. Percy usually had a _lot _of clothes stuffed in there, along with some stuff for his cousins, Thalia and Nico. But there was a large number of clothes missing, and the entire top shelf was empty. Annabeth's keen eye took note of the fact that all Camp-Half Blood shirts had remained untouched.

Casting another puzzled glance around the room, Annabeth marched out of the cabin, softly pulling the door shut behind her. Skimming over the few people milling about, her eyes found a familiar head of gold. Jogging down the grey steps, she ran over to the tall figure that was currently making his way to the archery grounds.

"Will!" Annabeth clutched his elbow, stopping him in his tracks.

The son of Apollo spun around in surprise, and his eyes narrowed when he saw who it was that had stopped him.

"Annabeth," he spoke stoically, "do you need something?"

Annabeth furrowed her eyebrows at the boy's cold words, but she quickly dismissed it. Perhaps he was just having a bad day.

"Yes. Do you know where Percy is? He's not in his cabin and some of his clothes are gone."

Will let a small glare break through his otherwise expressionless face.

"Why do _you _where he is?" he snarked.

Now this annoyed Annabeth. "Well why _wouldn't _I want to know where my _boyfriend _is?"

This seemed to be the last straw for the blue-eyed boy. His blank facade was abandoned completely and his face twisted into one of hatred. Normally smiling lips twisted into an ugly scowl and bright blue eyes burned with anger and _hatred _as they glared into Annabeth's grey ones.

"_Boyfriend? BOYFRIEND? _Why weren't you thinking that when you broke him? Why didn't consider that oh-so-small fact before you had so brutally crushed him! Oh no Chase. You lost all rights to call him your boyfriend when you broke up with him for a _job_!" Will growled.

"You didn't see him after. He was so broken. Gods you should have seen him. His eyes stilled, and became completely blank. His face ashen with anguish and despair and all his features seemed to suddenly transform into the image of the Goddess of Misery herself. He collapsed onto his knees at the edge of the pier, simply staring out at the water. And then there was a scream. A scream of so much anger, hurt and pain that it was almost animalistic. The winds whirled around him, spiralling upwards and shielding him from the rest of the world. Tears streamed down his face in torrents and sea called out in response to its master's torment. It was beautiful," his words were barely a whisper towards the end.

"And you, Annabeth Chase, were the cause of that. You are the one that caused out hero so much pain. So you do not deserve to call him your boyfriend. Not after all you put him through."

Annabeth involuntary step back at the words coming from Will's mouth. Her eyes were widened in shock and her mouth opened and closed in an attempt to form words. Grey stormy eyes had darkened and held a violence about them, reflecting the state of her mind. Her expression was one of shock, pain and bemusement.

Looking up into Will's furious glare, her eyes exposing many emotions - confusion being most prominent - and swirling with fury, she managed to speak with soft words.

"Will I have been on Olympus for more than a week, last night being the first time I came down to the world in ages."

"And I haven't seen Percy in weeks. Not even through Iris Message."

"_I never broke up with him_."

* * *

**At Hogwarts...**

Dumbledore looked up from the parchment on his desk at the low knock. He had been staring at the neat writing for more than a little while, seeing but not really reading the words. His mind had been preoccupied with the fervent thoughts running rampart through his head. Theories, solutions, answers. Nothing that solved the puzzle.

His action bothered him. He couldn't fathom _why _he had done it. It put a noticeable dent in his plans and he did not like that one bit. Why would he do such a thing? This only caused a rift in the school. Something that needed to be filled. People were very untrusting. Especially young people. Or was that the other way around?

Another knock stirred him from his stupor, and he heaved himself off the comfortable seat to open the door. Fixing his attire and schooling on the appearance of a wise old man, he opened the door with a flourish.

There stood a man that appeared older than he should have, with premature lines and greying light brown hair. Scars littered his pale, weary face and his sparkling green eyes were full of life, wisdom and sorrow. His dark, shabby clothes were torn in many places and he now sported a small mustache and beard - a small change from when he was last seen.

"Remus Lupin. My old friend. Please do come in," Dumbledore led the way into his office, sitting down and inviting the man now identified as Lupin to do the same.

"I must thank you once again for coming here on such short notice. I hope you weren't too busy when I called," Dumbledore smiled, knowing very well that the man hadn't been busy at all.

It was near impossible for a werewolf to get work of any sort these days.

Lupin frowned. "No. No of course not. I'm more than happy to be here. But I must admit I was surprised when I received your letter. I didn't think you would risk putting me to work here again."

Dumbledore smiled, knowing that his eyes were twinkling.

"Ah but my dear Remus. Whoever said I was making you a member of the staff? No I have a much more important job for you."

Lupin stared at him curiously. Whatever else could he do if not teach? Perhaps there was another one of his kind that needed to be taken care of. As much as he didn't wish this life on anyone, he had always wanted a son.

"Now you'll still be teaching, just not in the way you had before. You see, there's this boy - a transfer student from America - that needs tutoring. He isn't as well..._immersed_...in the Light side of magic as I would like him to be, and has also been in an accident of sorts quite recently. Not at Hogwarts, mind you, but while he was in America. I believe that he may be a valuable ally if we could convince him to join our side," Dumbledore explained.

Lupin unconsciously tilted his head to the side, pondering on what he had just been told.

"And who could possibly be such a valuable ally? Especially if he is only a student. And what of this accident? I presume by the mere fact that you informed of it that it has some sort of impact on this boy?" he asked, his mind racing for information.

"How very perceptive," Dumbledore chuckled. "But yes, you are correct. The accident caused some of his memory to be damaged, therefore he does not remember many spells. But he is a very capable student, easily picking up new spells from what I've been told. You shant have much trouble teaching him."

"That's all very well. It only makes it easier for me to tutor him. But you have yet to tell me who he is and why he is so important," Lupin pointed out.

Dumbledore smiled devilishly, his eyes gleaming with amusement and curiosity.

"His importance is quite self-explanatory, my dear Remus. And as for his name, well, it is none other than Percy Riddle."

**PJOxXxHPxXxPJOxXxHP**

Remus Lupin trudged down the dark staircase with a weary mind. His footsteps were heavy with the impact of his new-found knowledge. The old Headmaster had told him many things, that was certain, but never had he told him something quite as shocking as what he had told him earlier that day.

And to think that he had arrived here hoping for another shot at a normal teaching job.

Well as normal as a job in a magic school could get.

Sometimes he wondered if they really were all that better off than the ordinary muggle. Yes, perhaps they had magic, and yes perhaps they did defy more than a few laws of Science, but did that make them better? Did they really have any more freedom than the muggles had?

In fact, when it all came down to it, it truly seemed as though the muggles were the better fighters. The people with the better sense of morality. With better ideals. Perhaps they weren't the ones tied down. Perhaps their belief in Science and Religion only sufficed to keep them grounded and, for lack of better terms, kept them from sticking their heads too far up their asses.

After all, wasn't it the wizards who still had arguments in terms of blood? Wasn't it the wizarding world that still lived under the rule of such a harebrained government? Who cared about nobility these days anyway? Let alone cared enough to start a war over the matter!

The muggles had solved their issues with blood practically centuries ago! Why did the wizarding world have to be so darn stubborn?

Lupin contemplated all this as he made his way down to his new living quarters. They were a good bit away from the dorms as he technically wasn't supposed to be back at Hogwarts. Not after the incident from Harry's second year.

Ah Harry Potter. The boy who would, for Lupin, forever remain a reminder of his failure. Harry shouldn't have had to live without his true family. Because that blasted uncle and aunt of his definitely didn't count as family.

If only Lupin hadn't failed so horribly. If only he had the right mind to have trusted his best friends. If only he hadn't accused Sirius of being guilty. if only he was trustworthy enough to have been told the plan before that fateful night, then perhaps he could have prevented their deaths.

But as it was, he couldn't have done anything. Because as much as he would have liked to prevent it, Harry was destined to become the 'Boy who Lived'.

Shaking off those thoughts with a sigh, he entered his sleeping chamber and unceremoniously flopped down onto the bed, hoping in vain to escape the tortures of his sleeping mind.

* * *

**Haha hey guys! So, um, you lot probably hate me right now, and I honestly don't blame you! I have been a horrible author as of late, and I sincerely apologise for that! **

**So I've been pretty sick for the past two days, and have had to stay home from school for that. But it had only occurred to me this afternoon that I should probably get off my lazy podex and finish off writing this chapter. And so here you go!**

**Now this chapter is actually pretty important as you might have realised already, and has just a tiny plot twist in it. Okay so maybe it's not so tiny, but you can't honestly be telling me that you hadn't expected it! Or at least felt that something was fishy!**

**So there's a lot of mysterious Dumbledore thought here, and some guilt werewolf thought, but the bottom line is that Dumbledore has finally arranged for Percy's lessons! Exciting stuff right?**

**Now i will do my very best to get the next chapter out soon - in fact I'll start writing it as soon as I've finished uploading this!**

**And I also want to recommend a few stories for you guys to check out while you (hopefully) wait for my next upload:**

_**All of Our Stars - **_**TheLastInspiration. Inspire has supported me a lot through this mad journey that is writing, and has honestly helped me so much! His story has a great meaning and is an AU Pertemis story. I won't say much more, but I do recommend it! So go check it out guys!**

_**The Legend Changes -**_** JayGel44. This story's just really different from others and I like that. I hope you do too! And as usual, it is a Pertemis story! Do go check it out!**

_**The Spark of A Fire - **_**mle199. Now this story is a Percy/OC story, but is so original and well written that I instantly fell in love with it! So I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, and even if you don't, well there's no harm in checking it out!**

**And if you end up reading all those and I still haven't updated (feel free to send me death threats if that happens) then here's a thought:  
_Do you prefer reading a story in the style most writers on this website post (as in reading them chapter by chapter) or would you rather read an entire completed story (like how a book is published irl)?_  
**

**Tell me what your thoughts on that are in the reviews section (yes this is me subtly trying to get more reviews ;) but hush! You never heard a word!)**

**Thanks so much for sticking with me through this! Love you all! BYEEE! XOXO**


	12. Chapter 12

Percy sighed, running his hand down his face _again_ for the gazillionth time. He still couldn't believe that he had almost kissed a girl he only knew for a week or so.

Now as he laid in bed, he wouldn't help the wave of embarrassment that shot through him — causing his cheeks to glow red. Who knew he was capable of such romantic words?

He grimaced as he recalled what had happened, his whole body cringing in mortification. He honestly felt like throwing himself into the lake and sinking to the bottom where he could forever dwell with the over-sized catfish and the giant temperamental squid.

"So you're telling me that, not only did you almost kiss this girl that apparently just so happens to look a lot like Annabeth, but you also got caught doing this by the school's biggest pranksters and _then_, possibly the strictest teacher? Did I get that right or did I miss some of your humiliation?" a sarcastic voice called, temporarily distracting Percy from his misery.

Percy glanced at the slightly watery image of a vampire-resembling boy. Scowling, he glared and huffed, choosing instead to bury his face under his covers.

The vampire-boy snorted and grinned, clearly enjoying his cousin's current situation.

"Wow Perce! I'm pretty sure you're the only one that can manage to do something like this. Like seriously! You have the worst luck ever! Might wanna check for any luck-giving potion or something!" the boy laughed.

"Just shut the hell up Nico! You are not helping! I called for some advice! Not to be ridiculed some more! And I am also very aware of how bad my luck is so lay off on that as well!" Percy growled, his head still under his bed covers.

He had escaped to his dorm right after the _incident_ had happened, and after realising that his room-mates weren't there, had decided to Iris Message his trusted loner cousin. Mostly because of the loner bit so he couldn't exactly tell anyone about the magic world, thus keeping Percy's secret.

The vampire-boy, now identified as Nico, merely chuckled, not at all worried about his cousin's temper. Zeus knows he's had to deal with Percy's (and their other cousin Thalia's) temper tantrums enough to not be bothered by them any more.

"Okay Percy calm down. First of all, be glad that you were interrupted. You just got out of a relationship. And it ended pretty badly as well. So you are in no way ready for that kind of commitment yet! Besides, you barely even know this girl. But she seems to genuinely like you, and she accepts you, so she might be your shot at happiness," Nico stated calmly.

Percy sat up and stared hopefully at his cousin, considering his, admittedly wise, words. "You think? I'd like a bit happiness right about now. How the hell am I gonna do this though?"

Nico frowned. "Take it slow. Get to know her first. Let's not make the mistakes you made with Annabeth. Now first of all, you have to figure out exactly what you like about this girl. She looks like Annabeth, so I'm a little concerned. She seems pretty nice. Don't make her feel like the rebound. Cos that would _not_ end _well_."

Percy nodded, listening intently and making sure that he was completely focused. So it was most certainly not his fault when his brain thought of how ironic it was that he getting relationship advice from a son of Hades.

Feeling quite important, Nico continued, "Be nice to her and spend time with her. Do a load of little things that show her that you care, like opening the door for her and offering to help her with homework and shit like that."

Percy nodded once more. "Okay I got it. So wh-"

Just then, he was interrupted by the sound of voices coming closer to the dorm.

"Ah crap! Well I gotta go, but I'll call you later Nick!" Percy shot him a panicked glance and lifted his hand, ready to get rid of the mist.

"See ya Percy! Remember my advice! I'll talk to you soon! Good luck cuz!" Nico managed to say before his face was decapitated by a hand.

Percy flopped back down onto his bed and leaned against his propped up pillows, quickly grabbing some parchment and scattering it across his bed, and then grabbing his potions book and flipping it open onto what seemed like an appropriate page. Just in time too, as not a moment later, the door to the dorm was thrown open and four boys marched into the room, making a beeline straight for his bed.

"You kissed Luna?!" Robert immediately blurted out with a scowl.

Percy looked at him, shifting uncomfortably on the bed. "Um no? I _almost_ kissed Luna..."

That didn't seem to help as Robert simply glared some more. Percy wondered why it bothered Robert so much. Could it be that Robert? No. That couldn't be it.

"Really? Dude what stopped you?" Terry asked curiously.

"Oh the Weasley twins showed up just as I was about to kiss her and then Professor McGonagall appeared and I sort of just escaped that awkward situation as fast as I could. How did you guys hear about that anyway?" Percy blushed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"We were in the kitchens grabbing some sweets and stuff when we overheard the elves talking about it. I'll bet that by morning the entire school will know. Those Weasley twins work fast!" Anthony grinned.

"Yeah they can pretty scary, not even joking! I swear, dating Ginny is a risky thing. One mistake and you've got all her brothers after you!" Michael shuddered in fear.

"Oh lay off! I don't want to think about what those two could do! Now, where are all those sweets you went hunting for?" Percy scowled and eagerly changed the subject.

Terry grinned and pulled out a bunch of marbles from his pocket. Muttering a spell, he quickly transfigured them back into bags of sweets. Anthony quickly grabbed a bag of **'Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans'** and the boys made themselves comfortable for a celebratory midnight feast.

* * *

Hermione smiled as she sat in her favourite chair in the Common Room. It was quite early in the morning, and her two best friends would take a while to get ready. Having been through this many times before, Hermione had made sure to bring a book along to read as she waited.

Her mind, however, didn't seem to be in the mood to read _'A Midsummer Night's Dream'_, and frequently went back to thinking about the night before. Right after the DA had split for the day, she hurried down to the library for a bit of research.

Immediately going for the mythological creatures section, she had searched through a countless number of books, desperately searching for even a hint as to what creature Percy's Patronus was. After what had seemed like ages, she had finally found a book on strange creatures from Irish mythology. Her search had proved to not be in vain as she found the name of a creature that could transform into a horse, eagle, goat and goblin. This creature, it turned out, was called '**_The Pooka_**'.

There wasn't much information on it unfortunately, so Hermione was unable to discover much more about it. Although it was a little curious that Percy's Patronus would be a Pooka. It was even more curious that Percy could summon a Patronus as Death Eaters were generally incapable of doing a Patronus Charm.

It seemed as though the more answers she got, the more mystery Percy became surrounded in. And for someone that liked to know things, it was beyond frustrating for Hermione to not be able to indulge herself in a book about Percy and find out every little thing about him.

Ron's voice brought her out of her thoughts, "There you are! Come on! I'm starving!."

She stood up and watched as her friends ran down the stairs from the boys dormitories. Robes thrown on haphazardly, hair flying everywhere, Ron was the first one to come down, immediately followed by a slightly neater Harry.

"Hey Hermione. You ready to go?" Harry asked, running a hand through his shaggy hair.

_'He really needs a haircut'_ Hermione mused.

"Yep. I'm all set. But are you alright Harry?"

Harry sighed. "Well, actually, I've been meaning to tell you something."

Hermione raised an eyebrow inquisitively, indicating for him to go on. Whatever he needed to say seemed to be really bothering him. He kept running his hand through his hair, which was something he only did when he was stressed.

"Do you remember when Riddle's snake appeared at the DA meeting yesterday? Well, the snake, it was talking about the Patronus Charm, and said that it wondered what Riddle's charm would look like. It told him that he should learn the charm soon. That's why I was trying to goad Riddle into doing the Patronus Charm. I wanted to see him fail at it, then I could question him on why he couldn't do the Charm, considering that he's meant to be really advanced in magic," Harry explained quietly, making sure that no one could hear him. "The snake caught me listening to their conversation then, and warned him, so now Riddle knows that I'm a Parselmouth too."

Hermione's eyes widened in surprise. It was rather odd, but there had to be a logical explanation.

"Well, perhaps Percy was never taught that particular charm. Death Eaters can't cast a Patronus. So maybe he just wasn't taught. However that would mean that he was able to successfully conjure a Patronus on his very first go, with no former practice. That would make him a very powerful wizard!" she contemplated.

"That's what the snake said," Harry mumbled, pulling at his hair in frustration.

"And speaking of the Patronus Charm, I discovered what creature Percy's Patronus is," Hermione continued, pretending that Harry hadn't spoken.

Harry head popped up at this. He'd also been wondering what Percy's Patronus was. He'd never seen a Patronus that could change forms.

"The closest, and most accurate one I could come up with was a Pooka. It's a creature from Irish mythology that could turn into a horse, eagle, goat and goblin." Hermione explained.

Harry looked at the ground thoughtfully. "That does seem like the right one. Well done Mione. But I wonder why his Patronus is a Pooka."

"Me too. I-"

Hermione was interrupted by a suspicious voice.

"Oi! What are you two whispering about? Tell me too!" Ron called, looking back at them.

Harry and Hermione traded a loaded glance and came to a decision. They would tell the others at a later time. After all, it wasn't that important right?

"Nothing mate! We were just talking about when the next _you know what_ meeting is," Harry answered with an easy grin.

Ron looked relieved for a second before he quickly covered it up with a grin.

"Well let's go grab breakfast and we can talk about it while we eat!"

And that signalled the end of any further conversation until all three were seated at the Gryffindor table with healthy servings of food in front of them. And obviously Ron had twice the amount needed for a boy of his age. It was just another fact of life.

Malfoy belonged as a Hippogriff's feces.

Dumbledore liked socks.

And Ron ate a lot of food.

As Hermione listened to Ginny drone on about a boyfriend (or maybe it was Quidditch - she wasn't exactly paying attention) her eyes wandered over to the Ravenclaw table, immediately finding the familiar messy raven hair. Percy Riddle looked very different that morning. For one, his uniform looked immaculate. He had his robe on his lap, his shirt neatly tucked and his tie straightened. His hair still had that extremely endearing windblown look, and a lazy grin covered his face.

He was laughing at something Ginny's boyfriend, Michael, said, and glancing at Luna every so often. Hermione felt something start to develop in her chest, and quickly pushed it down. She didn't know what that feeling was, but she didn't like it.

"-ione! Hermione! Are you listening?!" Hermione's eyes snapped back to the scowling red-head sitting next to her.

"What?"

"Ugh! _I said_, Fred and George saw Percy and Luna snogging last night!" Ginny repeated excitedly.

Hermione started. "Percy who? she asked, already knowing what the answer would be.

"Percy Riddle of course!"

The feeling was back.

"_What?!_"

"I know right! Luna's so lucky! I mean, I really like Michael, but Percy's on a whole different level! He's practically a god! I sure wouldn't mind kissing him!" Ginny continued, oblivious to Hermione's inner turmoil.

'_Percy and Luna? What? That can't happen! Why do I even care? Because he's a mystery. Yes, that's it. He's a mystery that I want to solve, but I'm afraid that Luna might get to solve it first. And that's why I feeling like this. I must be jealous! After all, Luna's awfully smart! That's right Hermione. That's all it is. Besides, Ron much more likable than Percy.._.' Hermione thought as she nibbled on her lip.

Her eyes flickered over to Ron as he threw a sausage up in the air and caught it in his mouth with a practiced grace that only such a..._fine(?)_...eater could achieve. His shaggy red hair had bits of butter in it (_heaven knows how it got there_) and his eyes were focused on a plate of bacon, calculating how far it was from his fork. But his messy eating habits were one of his endearing traits...right?

Hermione involuntarily glanced at Percy, noting how he used his table manners, eating with a fork and knife and chewing with his mouth closed, until he caught sight of a cookie which he immediately proceeded to gobble up, leaving a few crumbs on his lip. Luna also seemed to notice the crumbs as she gently pointed them out. Percy quickly wiped them away and grinned at her, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

Hermione quickly looked down. She stared at her cereal watching the milk swirl as she twirled her spoon. Had Percy and Luna always been this close?

"Hey guys!" Ginny unknowingly interrupted Hermione's thoughts. "Michael wants to formally introduce me to his friends and I want you all to meet them too!"

Upon seeing the determined look on the young red-head's face no one bothered to argue and quickly got up. Harry, Neville, Ron and Hermione followed Ginny into the corridor outside the Hall.

They didn't have to wait long for Michael to come out with his friends.

Hermione had briefly met them all already, however it was the first time she get to be formally introduced to them.

"Hey guys. I'd just like to introduce you to my friends. I figured that since Gin and I are dating, we'd be hanging out with each other's friends more often and I'm hoping that this would get rid of any awkwardness," Michael explained quickly as he brushed his hair to the side.

Ginny smiled sweetly at him, giving him a hug in greeting before turning to look at his friends with interested eyes. "Hey I'm Ginny Weasley. You probably know, or at least have heard of, my brothers."

The shortest boy of the lot approached her with his hand stuck out proudly. "Course we have! I'm Terry Boot by the way!"

Ginny grinned at the hyperactive lad and shook his hand.

"Anthony Goldstein," the blonde boy smiled kindly, carefully shaking Ginny's hand.

"You already know me," Luna shared a grin with her friend and fellow classmate.

Lastly, the boy everyone knew, stepped forward. "Percy Riddle, as I'm sure you already know."

Percy smirked. He gave Ginny a polite nod and looked at her friends. As Ginny dragged Michael away to introduce him to her brother and Harry, Terry and Anthony walked over to Neville, while Hermione was approached by Percy himself.

"Ah Miss Granger! I believe we've met before?" he cocked an eyebrow in questioning and placed a playful kiss on her hand.

Hermione felt her cheeks heating up and cleared her throat. "Yes. More than once I think."

"I remember. First in Snape's pit - oh I'm sorry I mean _classroom_, then in detention and finally our encounter last night," he grinned, eyes dancing.

Hermione resisted a laugh and instead smiled politely. "Yes that's right."

"Well I look forward to more detentions with you!" Percy said in a mockingly serious tone.

"More detentions? What makes you think they'll be more!" Hermione's voice rose a little, completely incredulous.

Percy's mouth twitched but he managed to hold off a smile. "Oh, well I just presumed that there would be more detentions since you sit next to me in Potions and Snape's already decided that he hates me."

Hermione's eyes widened as it dawned on her that he was right. She would no doubt receive many more detentions because of this troublesome boy. Was it too late to switch partners? Maybe if she begged Snape? She was suddenly brought out of her thoughts by a laugh. Starting, she looked at Percy who had his head thrown back in laughter.

"Oh Merlin you should have seen your face! I'm sorry Hermione but that was just too funny! You looked like you were up against a snake! Then again, it _is_ Snape we're talking about!" Percy grinned widely.

Hermione's mouth dropped open as she proceeded to glare at the young man in front of her. To think he was just messing with her about something so serious! How dare he?!

"That was _not_ funny! I can't believe you would joke about something like that! How on earth did you end up getting a Pooka as your Patronus?!" Hermione growled furiously.

Percy blinked in surprise. "Huh. I didn't think anyone knew what it was. Isn't someone quite the genius?"

As he said that, a flash of pain darkened his eyes for a split second, but Hermione caught it. She wondered why he would feel pain for saying that. Perhaps he was hurt? Although this seemed more like emotional pain.

"Hey guys! It's just about time for class to start. Should we head on to get there early?" Luna suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Hermione had forgotten that they were in a corridor with other people. Percy just drew all her attention to him, like a vortex or a black hole. Although clearly she wasn't the only one feeling these effects. Shaking herself from these thoughts, she quickly gathered herself and walked over to where the lot had gathered.

"Well it was nice meeting you all. See you again at lunch or something. I honestly can't remember if we have any classes together!" Anthony smiled apologetically.

After a few more 'goodbye's and 'see you later's, they all walked off their separate ways.

"I'll see you later Hermione!" Percy called back.

Hermione turned around and on impulse, grinned, waving back. Ignoring Harry and Ron's odd looks, she looked forward to class in a much better mood than before.

* * *

It was while she was walking to History of Magic that _it_ happened. Her two best friends were probably already there as they had just had Divination while she had just had Study of Ancient Runes. The corridor was empty as she quickly hurried to her next class.

Hermione Granger was not known for being late.

She was glancing at her report on famous female witches, when suddenly, something fell from the ceiling and landed in front of her.

Jumping back in fright, her hand flew to her chest to clamp down her beating heart as she glanced at the thing in front of her. It was a parchment. A parchment that was rolled up and tied with a grey ribbon. Glancing up and around her, she cautiously reached out with her wand and prodded the parchment. There didn't appear to be anything wrong with it so she picked it up and unrolled to find...that it was empty. Blank. Not a single speck of ink to be found.

Hermione looked at the parchment in bemusement. Who would just leave an empty parchment lying about for her? No there must have been some sort of enchantment on the paper. While Hermione detested missing class, she was dealing with a potentially much more important matter at the moment. Besides, she knew enough about history to miss one lesson and her friends would take notes for her, trusting that there was a good reason for her not being in class.

Or at least, Harry would. Ron probably wouldn't bother, but that was only because he was so confident in her intelligence!

Hermione leaned against the wall under a window and made herself comfortable. Spreading the parchment across her lap, she stared at the blank paper intently, trying to unravel all its secrets from just a look. Obviously that didn't work. Shame. It would have been nice if it did. Hermione had to think about this. She couldn't just charge in head first and hope to get it right! No she had to be smart about this. The first step was figuring out who owned this parchment. Now, while there was probably a spell that could figure this out for her, Hermione was a muggle-born, and she was used to relying on logic.

A blank parchment seemed like the sort of thing the Weasley twins would think up of, since they were such big fans of the Marauders and had originally owned the Marauder's Map before they gave it to Harry. So naturally, Hermione tried to access the parchment's information the same way you did with the Map.

"Mischief managed!" she exclaimed, pointing her wand at the paper.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. But Hermione wasn't deterred. She was convinced that she was on the right track. What else would the Weasleys put as the password?

"Fred and George!"

"Feorge and Gred!"

Gred and Feorge?"

"Weasley trouble?"

"Joker twins?"

"Mischievous twins?"

"Mischief makers?"

Still nothing! Perhaps she was looking at it the wrong way? Maybe if she focused on the actual Marauders?

"Marauders?"

Nope.

"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs?"

Not the one.

"Magic mischief makers?"

The paper trembled a little and slowly, ink started to appear in the middle of the page.

_Second floor girls' lavatory. Right after sixth period. VERY IMPORTANT._

Hermione frowned. What could be so important that the Weasley twins had to see her about. Whatever it was, it had certainly caught her interest. Picking herself up off the floor, she rolled up the parchment and tucked it into one of her robe pockets. Making sure that she looked presentable, she set off for her class. She was most certainly not making a good example of herself as prefect, and it was better to be late than to not go at all!

The rest of the day seemed to go by pretty quickly (despite Ron's complains about how slow it was) and soon enough, it was lunch. As Anthony had said, they hadn't had any classes together, but she did have Potions next and she new that she shared that class with the Ravenclaws. How could she forget?

As she sat at the table with her friends, she couldn't help but think of the parchment. Not that it has been off her mind for much long that day. She stared at the Weasley twins and tried to see if they were acting suspicious or sneaky or something. They _looked_ pretty normal, but then again, thy were practised tricksters. They probably knew how to not seem suspicious. Fred (or was it George?) caught her eye and smirked at her.

"Ooh! Checking us out eh Hermione? Sorry sweetheart but we're a bit too old for you not to mention way out of your league!" he flipped his hair like a diva.

Hermione blushed and glared at them. Her friends were laughing and she was annoyed.

"I am _not_ checking you out! Please! I'd rather go out with a troll!" she huffed.

"A troll? Now that's a bit harsh isn't it? And there's no need to be ashamed! We are pretty darn good looking!" George laughed. Or was it Fred? They confused her so much and she did not like being confused. That was probably part of the reason why she didn't get along with them.

"Yeah right! Stop kidding yourselves dear brothers of mine. We all know that the reason you've not got girlfriends is because you look like boggarts!" Ginny snorted.

"If we look like boggarts then what does that mean you look like dear person who's related to us!" one of the red-headed twins questioned mockingly.

"A dementor obviously!" the other answered. "I mean, can't you see the uncanny resemblance?!"

Ginny scowled and held up her fork threateningly. "I will stab you. I will stab you and I will not regret it."

The odd thing was not the fact that Ginny was attempting to look threatening with a fork, but the fact that Fred and George actually seemed genuinely scared of her.

Bottom line - don't mess with Ginny. Especially when she's near some cutlery.

Hermione shook her head at the ridiculousness of the Weasleys. If anything, at least they were good entertainment. She meant that in a nice way. Across from her, Harry was also looking at the siblings in amusement. He was more used to their bickering as he had stayed with them for a while, but still, they never failed to surprise him. One day, he was sure that their bickering would get them in a lot of trouble.

Next to Harry, Ron was - as per usual - stuffing his face with food. It honestly seemed like that was the only thing he ever did at any meal. Then again, in his opinion, _'A meal is called a meal because you're supposed to eat at it. Why would you waste time doing anything else?'_

Hermione's eyes then wandered over to the Ravenclaw table. This was becoming an unhealthy habit of hers. She was dangerously close to becoming obsessed. However, despite her mind warning her, she still continued to search for him, finding him next to Luna. She was laughing and talking to her, his head a bit too close to her head for Hermione's liking. But why should she care whose head Percy was close to? It was none of her business what he did with other people.

_'Sure it isn't. Why do you keep staring at him then?'_

Hermione chose to ignore the voice in her head. Voices in people's heads were meant to be crazy anyway.

_'Actually they're meant to make people crazy.'_

No they weren't. Hermione refused to listen to the stupid voice. She was not crazy. There was no voice in her head.

_'Sure there isn't'_

Hermione idly wondered if this is what Percy felt like when he talked to his snake.

'_There you go. Thinking about Percy again! I think you've crossed that obsessed line...'_

Stupid, idiotic voices that did most certainly not exist!

As much as Hermione would later deny this, she did in fact spend the rest of lunch arguing with a voice in her head. She even accidentally said something out loud, gaining her some odd looks. Ron was certain the books were getting to her. He always knew reading was a bad thing. He really thought that eating would help his friend out. He would have made the suggestion, but the roast pig was staring at him, obviously trying to mock him, and he needed to show it who was boss.

* * *

"Erm, Hermione? Is it meant to be doing that?"

Hermione looked up from her book to see Percy staring nervously at the bubbling cauldron.

"Yes. It's says so right here. The cauldron should be bubbling," she answered, a bit bemused as to why Percy was so worried.

"Yeah, but it's turning _green_!" Percy emphasised the word 'green'.

Hermione's head snapped up and true enough, the potion was turning green.

They were trying to make a **Calming Draught**, but it wasn't going so well. The potion was meant to turn into an amber colour. Not green!

Looking at her book desperately, Hermione went through all the steps they had taken, ticking them off in her mental check-list as she read them in the book.

"You only added a dash of scurvy-grass right?"

Hermione looked up when Percy didn't reply.

"Um, how much is a dash again, exactly?" he asked sheepishly.

Hermione put her head in her hands and groaned. For the first time, she was going to fail at making a potion! And this was in preparation for her OWLs too! Not to mention, she was probably going to lose points for her House, and Snape wasn't going to miss the opportunity to point out her failure to everyone, and then the Slytherins would start their mocking and-

"Hey! Look it fixed itself!"

Hermione raced over to the cauldron and looked inside. The previously green potion was now the perfect shade of amber. Sighing in relief, she grinned at Percy.

"Thank Merlin! I was so worried for a second there. Although I do wonder, how did it turn from green to amber so quickly?" she mused.

Percy shrugged. "I'm not even going to pretend that I understand Potions. Ugh it's like Science. Complicated and complicated!"

Hermione giggled and smiled. "Only until you understand the logic behind it."

"Does magic even have logic behind it? I mean, I'm pretty sure magic isn't supposed to exist!" Percy winked.

"I like to believe that everything has some sort of logic behind it. It helps me understand everything better," Hermione replied. "Besides, you seem to have a knack for Potions."

"Nah it's just my amazing intuition. I simply trust it to pick the right stuff," Percy smiled briefly.

Before Hermione could reply to that, Snape announced that he was going to check on their work now.

"Quick! Let's get it off the fire and pour into some vials!" Hermione instructed, reaching for the vials.

Percy nodded and picked up the cauldron before Hermione could stop him. He placed it on the counter and looked at her puzzlement, confused as to why she was just standing there.

"How did you not just burn your hands?!" Hermione demanded, glaring at his hands accusingly.

Percy blinked, startled, before he gathered himself and winked at her. "Magic!"

Hermione shook her head with a frown and handed him the vials while she picked up the ladle. Soon enough, they had five vials full of **Calming Draught** potion. She looked at their finished work with pride and then glanced at her partner, who had just started cleaning up. She had to admit, they worked quite well together. Even if Percy was prone to making many mistakes.

"Are you just going to stand there or are you going to come help me out? Because I refuse to do all the cleaning up!"

Hermione snapped out of her revere and smiled at her partner. "I'll help! I was just giving you the chance to get some credit for yourself!"

"What is that supposed to mean? I got plenty of credit!" Percy cried indignantly.

Hermione laughed. "Sure you did."

Before Percy could reply, Snape had approached them and stood over their table, inspecting the vials.

"Hm. An E. At least you've got it to be the right colour. Tidy this up and get out." he said with a scowl and walked off to some other poor pair.

Hermione stared after him as he left. She often wondered why the professor was so mean to everyone. Surely someone couldn't naturally be that mean. No, Hermione was sure that there was some story to Snape, and she was itching to know what it was. She hadn't missed the way Snape sometimes looked at Harry, and even herself. It was like they reminded him of something tragic.

She shook her head and put those thought to the back of her mind. She could ponder about Snape some other time.

Percy and Hermione quickly cleaned up their workplace, taking care to put everything back where it belonged as Snape was picky about that sort of thing. Gathering her stuff, Hermione paused to wave goodbye to a forlorn looking Harry and Ron, before walking out of the classroom with Percy.

"So where are you headed now that we've been let out of class early?" Hermione asked her companion.

"Well I'm supposed to report to _Umbridge_ for detention at the end of class. I might as well go now and get it done and over with," Percy sighed bitterly.

"Oh yes! I heard that you got into some sort of disagreement with her," Hermione said, silently imploring him to expand on that.

"It's not my fault. She just rubbed me in the wrong way and I simply defended myself. You know, taking precautions and all that."

Hermione chuckled but she was secretly worried. She remembered when Harry had detention from Umbridge. She had made him use a blood quill.

"Be careful Percy. She's not a very nice woman, and does have a lot of power. Just, be careful and please don't antagonise her so much," Hermione said softly, not looking at her friend.

She didn't know why she was so concerned. All she knew was that she didn't want him to get hurt. But that was a perfectly normal thing to feel for a friend. And that's what Percy was to her. A friend.

Percy frowned, but relented. "Okay Hermione. I'll be careful and I'll try to not antagonise her so much. But I make no promises!"

Hermione laughed, and the sombre mood disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

"Well, while you have fun with Umbridge, I'm going to head down to the library. Maybe I'll finally figure out what specie your snake is!" she smiled.

Percy grinned. "Good luck! Tell me if you do. If you don't I can always ask her for you!"

They waved goodbye and went their separate ways.

* * *

After spending a while checking out some books on Advanced Runes, Hermione decided to leave the library and make her way to the Second Floor girls' bathroom. She was a bit apprehensive, which was understandable as the Weasley twins were known for their mischief. Once she reached the bathroom she took a moment to fix her robes before walking through the door.

At a first glance, the bathroom was empty. The doors of the stalls were all closed and the only sounds that could be heard were the sounds of a tap dripping and Moaning Myrtle woefully crying.

Suddenly, a shadow shifted in the corner, and Hermione had her wand out and pointed at the figure quicker than you could say 'Lemon Sherbet'. All that training had certainly paid off, and Hermione felt confident with the knowledge of all those offensive and defensive spells.

"Don't worry. I assure you I mean no harm," said a voice calmly.

It was a voice Hermione could recognise anywhere.

"Professor Lupin!" Hermione cried in delight.

Remus Lupin stepped out from the shadows fully and smiled at one of his favourite students.

"I'm not your teacher any more Miss Granger. Please, call me Remus." he insisted.

Hermione grinned. "You'll always be my teacher Professor. It wouldn't feel right calling you Remus."

The werewolf chuckled and shook his head fondly. Hermione had realised by now that he had sent her that note, and was about to question him on it, when the doors to the bathroom burst open.

There, looking a bit dishevelled - but still quite put together considering the circumstances - was a grinning Percy Riddle.

"Am I late?"

* * *

**And there you go! Finally another chapter for you lovely readers! I know that I haven't updated any of my stories in a long time, and really the only excuse I have is that life happened. But I managed to get this chapter finished and roughly edited (with Inspire's help). I'm pretty tired now, and in the middle of my mock exams, so I'm just gonna go ahead and publish this chapter. I'll let future me worry about all the proper editing.**

**So Alan Rickman died. I'm heartbroken. Literally heartbroken. Our real-life Snape is dead! I think I'm still in denial. I just can't believe it!**

***Sniffs* Moving on. *Sniffs***

**This chapter's a pretty long one. Much longer than any of my other ones so I hope it serves as a small apology and some sort of olive branch. Cos I really don't want to get attacked by you all for not have updated in months.**

**Oh! There is actually a specific reason why I mentioned 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. See if you can figure it out. It's relevant to this chapter I promise! **

**That's really all I've got to say. I hope you enjoy this chapter. To all those people who reviewed asking me to update: every time I read one of those reviews, I wrote a bit more of the chapter. just saying. So feel proud of yourselves.**

**Well, um, hopefully the next update won't take this long. Hopefully...**

**Love you all! XOXO**


	13. Chapter 13

"Not at all Mr. Riddle. You're right on time." Lupin smiled a bit stiffly.

Hermione was confused. What could Lupin possibly want with herself and Percy? She also didn't miss the way his attitude changed slightly at Percy's arrival. It didn't sit well with her that the Professor seemed so prejudiced against Percy, but in his defence, Voldemort _did _kill his best friend so she supposed he could be excused.

"Professor I'm afraid I don't quite understand. What are we doing here?" she turned to him and asked.

"Wait, Hermione, what are _you _doing here?" Percy frowned in confusion.

Hermione felt mildly offended for some reason and huffed before turning to Lupin expectantly.

Lupin smiled a little. "Well, Hermione, you're here to help me tutor Mr. Riddle."

Hermione really hoped that Lupin didn't expect that to be explanation enough, because if anything, she was filled with even more questions now.

"What-" she began to say.

"Percy, could you open up the chamber for us? I believe it's that tap over there. The one marked with a snake carving." Lupin interrupted.

Percy blinked in surprise.

"Uh sure," he muttered. "Whoever created this entrance sure was subtle."

Hermione, who was getting rather frustrated at the lack of answers, had to smile at that.

Percy walked up to the sinks and touched the little snake carving. He stood there for a few seconds, an uncertain look on his face.

"Er, I don't actually really know how I'm supposed to open it." He looked down in embarrassment.

"Harry opened it by saying the word 'open' in Parseltongue." Hermione said helpfully.

Percy nodded with a smile and turned back to the tap. He stared at it for a few seconds, brows furrowed in concentration, before suddenly hissing. It was odd for Hermione to hear the strange language coming from someone other than Harry. And it sounded very different. Perhaps it was Percy's American accent, or maybe his slightly deeper voice, but he - well - _hissed _differently.

Suddenly, the sound of stones grinding against each other could be heard. The sinks started to tremble and split open. With a final 'thud' everything came to a halt and they were left with a gaping hole into a dark abyss.

"Down we go!" Lupin gestured for Percy and Hermione to go first.

Percy nodded and gave Hermione a brief grin before leaping down the hole. Hermione gulped nervously before following him.

Although she had been on countless adventures and had been (mostly) coerced into doing so many dangerous things by now, the familiar sense of fear still shot up her spine, clogging in her throat, as she slid down the smooth stone pipe. The distinct smell of water near plants and the echo of water dripping onto stone assisted her mind in creating an image of what she imagined the Chamber to be like.

But all these thoughts flew by in a flash, and suddenly her feet were hitting the stony ground. She winced as her ankles absorbed the impact of her impromptu landing and gave Percy a reassuring smile at his concerned glance.

"That can't be good for our joints. We should figure out some way to make the landing softer or something." He offered somewhat awkwardly.

Hermione nodded thoughtfully. "That's a good idea. I'll work something out."

Percy furrowed his brow and opened his mouth, but whatever he was going to say was interrupted by Lupin shooting out of the tube and swiftly muttering a levitation charm to gently bring himself to the floor.

"Alright. Through this tunnel I believe." He pointed with his wand and led the way.

Hermione looked at Percy and wanted to ask him what he was trying to say, but he shrugged before she could utter a word, and started following the Professor. Hermione sighed and went after them. Why did it always end up with her following two males to some creepy and probably unsafe location?

* * *

"Again!"

Hermione watched with folded arms as Percy went through the motions of the _Draconifors Spell_, slashing his wand at the hand-sized rock in front of him and chanting "Draconifors!"

A fiery red light erupted from his wand and blasted the rock, fading to reveal a cute little dragon in its place.

"This is still so cool no matter how many times I do it!" Percy grinned as he looked at his dragon with pride.

Hermione tried no to smile at his excitement and promptly failed when he turned that delightful grin in her direction. It was still so bizarre, this situation she found herself in. Who would have thought that she, Hermione Granger - Muggleborn witch, would one day be teaching the grandson of _Lord Voldemort _transfiguration?! The astonishment from when Lupin explained Percy's problem to her still lingered in the back of her mind.

She was still a little doubtful of it all though. Why would Voldemort send Death Eater to _Oblivite _his own grandson? It didn't make any sense. Unless the Dark Lord knew that Dumbledore would take Percy in and had a plan that centred around Percy being in Hogwarts. But even that explanation left a lot of questions. Hermione wished she could discuss this with Harry and Ron, but Lupin had specifically told her that it would not do well if such information got out, and that meant keeping it a secret from everyone - including her best friends.

"-mione! Granger?!"

Hermione started and blinked at the tanned hand waving in front of her face. She glanced over the calluses and slightly rough skin and up until her eyes met soft sea-green orbs filled with confusion.

It struck her once again how _alluring _Percy's eyes were. Sea-green was such an odd blend of colours to have for eyes, and the way they seemed to have a suppressed glow about them. The way they seemed to move; a back-and-forth motion that drew you in, until suddenly you're drifting away, but then the waves would catch you and pull you back. There was something about them that made you feel powerless if you stared into them for too long. It was... hypnotic. And disconcerting.

"Okay you're kinda worrying me now. You okay?" Percy tried to chuckle, but couldn't mask the concern.

"Oh, I- I was just thinking. Sorry." Hermione stammered out a laugh, cheeks flushing slightly in embarrassment.

"Hey no worries! I used to know someone that would often get lost in thought too." Percy's eyes fell to the floor as he trailed off and the sad smile on his face had Hermione furrowing her eyebrows in concern.

"How do you speak Parseltongue," she blurted out, seemingly out of nowhere.

Percy looked up, the expression on his face clearly screaming confusion. "Er, what?"

Hermione pulled her shoulders back, determined to carry on along this path she set herself. "Parse tongue. Tell me about it. Harry's never really been able to explain well, but maybe you can."

"Um, okay," Percy nodded slowly. "What do you want to know?"

They moved to a dry patch on the floor and sat down cross-legged across from each other. Hermione was glad that Lupin had disappeared after teaching Percy some basic Defence Against the Dark Arts, claiming that he was confident in Hermione's abilities to handle Transfiguration on their own, because he probably wouldn't approve of them sitting down and talking about a language that basically represented Dark Wizards and Salazar Slytherin.

"Okay, um, how does it work? How do you just _know _the language without learning it? How do you know the difference between each type of hiss? What about grammar? What are the rules?" Hermione's eyes shone with that familiar excitement of learning.

"Whoa okay!" Percy laughed a little. "Okay, um, I guess it's just instinct really. Like, I think of what I want to say in English, but I want to actually verbally say it in Parseltongue, and I open my mouth and the hissing comes out, you know? It's hard to explain. I've never actually really thought about until now. Weird huh?"

Percy glanced at Hermione with a little awkward smile, but she just nodded excitedly, silently encouraging him to continue as her mind furiously processed all the information she was receiving.

"Um," Percy tried to remember what else she had asked, "I don't _think _there's any grammar? I don't think any of the typical rules apply. I just... speak it. And when it's spoken to me, something in my mind automatically translates it to English. It's like, instant. It almost feels like the snakes are speaking English to me, except I hear the hisses, but my brain hears English. Does that make any sense?"

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, not wanting his incompetence to be the cause of that happy gleam leaving Hermione's eyes. He's never seen someone's eyes light up so much at the prospect of learning, except for...

Hermione noticed the way Percy seemed to... drop and draw into himself. Based off all the other times he seemed to suddenly feel upset, and the things they would have been talking him about when he did, she could conclude that someone or something had clearly hurt him. Somewhat recently, too, judging by how often he got like this. And even though they didn't really know each other, Hermione hated to see him so hurt, and decided that she was going to do her best to cheer him up as much as possible whenever he was around her.

"I can make that make sense, don't you worry! I'm rather intelligent, if I do say so myself!" She winked, glad to see him smile a little at that.

"Tell me something... unexpected about yourself. Something I would be completely shocked by." Hermione asked eagerly, hoping to learn a little more about the mysterious Riddle while also distracting him from whatever plagued his thoughts.

Percy furrowed him eyebrows for a few moments before grinning, a little twinkle appearing in his eyes.

"I can swordfight. I've been told I'm pretty good actually!"

Hermione blinked. Well, she definitely wasn't expecting that! But... that _would _explain the calluses. And Percy's physique. And why he was so good at DADA. So really not as surprising a reveal then.

"I- wow. That's amazing! you must need to practise a lot!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Yeah, I mean, I used to practise everyday, but I don't exactly have a sword with me here." Percy shrugged, ruffling his hair a bit.

"You could use the Room of Requirement." Hermione mused. "Yes! You know how to get to it. Just think of a sword training arena as you walk past it and there you go!"

Percy nodded in surprise.

"Yeah. Yeah that could definitely work! I'll give it a go sometime." He promised with a smile.

Hermione smiled back. She couldn't help but feel... safe around him. Sure, he was a Riddle, and his grandfather was probably going to kill everyone she knew and loved, but she was starting to find more and more differences between _Percy Riddle, Grandson of Lord Voldemort _and _Percy, a sword-fighting Ravenclaw with the looks of a Greek God_. And she couldn't help but like Percy from Ravenclaw.

"So, tell me something about yourself. Full name, favourite colour, you know, that sort of thing." Percy looked away with a little cough, rubbing at the back of his neck again. Hadn't meant to just stare into Hermione's eyes for a moment like that. It was intense, though, and he kind of liked looking into eyes that reminded him of warm caramel, or chocolate. He tried not to blush at the awkwardness he must have created.

Hermione was quick to pull herself together and not appear fazed, a feat she was proud of, and smile brilliantly at the boy pointedly avoiding her gaze while sitting in front of her.

"Hermione Jean Granger. Gyffindor Prefect and founder of S.P.E.W!" She announced proudly. "And my favourite colour is light blue."

"Hey my favourite colour's blue too!" Percy exclaimed excitedly. "Only a more deeper blue. and what's S.P.E.W?"

Hermione smiled at the almost child-like excitement displayed by Percy. It was just so cute! "S.P.E.W. Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. I want to better the treatment of house-elves. They're practically slaves!"

Percy's eyes widened. "Whoa. Slavery huh? That's awful. And a serious issue. It's awesome that you're trying to do something against it. I- I'd love to hear more about it!"

"Wait, really?" Hermione couldn't believe it. "You want to know more? You don't think it's ridiculous and pointless and that the elves are actually happy the way they are so I should just leave them be?!"

"Well, yeah." Percy shrugged in confusion. "Why would I think wanting fair treatment for everyone is pointless or ridiculous?"

Hermione was stumped. Someone was actually seeing it from her point of view. Percy wanted to know more. He didn't think she was wasting her time. That she was being an_ idiot_.

Suddenly, she flung her arms around his neck, pressing her face into his neck. Percy just barely managed to catch her by wrapping his arms around her waist, although it was more a reflex than anything as he was still shocked from her sudden attack. Hermione closed her eyes and slowly breathed in the smell of the sea that seemed to cling to him.

Just as suddenly, she pulled back and put some space between them again, a faint blush rising in her cheeks. Percy, although still very confused, couldn't prevent a slight blush too.

Hermione coughed awkwardly. "Sorry. You're just the only person to ever understand."

She smiles shyly.

Percy grins back - his signature troublemaker grin that makes Hermione once again curse the fact that she finds rebelliousness attractive - and slowly stands up.

"Well, how about we meet up tomorrow and you explain all the fine details to me?" He suggests, offering his hand.

Hermione let's herself be pulled up and nods. "Sure. That would be fantastic. I can't wait to tell you all about it!"

Percy ruffles his hair and pulls out his wand, dropping Hermione's hand in the process. "Well, let's get back to it shall we? Charms next right?"

Hermione grabbed her wand too with a nod and a smile. Although she would have never guessed that this is where she would be today, she was glad. Because she finally getting to know Percy, and she was determined to prove everyone's distrust and instant assumptions wrong. She just knew that Percy was going to be a vital part of events to come, and by Merlin's name, she was going to have him on her side!

* * *

**Unedited. Sorry. Would have written more, but that would have taken ages and I wanted to get an update out. So yeah, her you go. Not my best work I know. Again, sorry.**


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